Help Needed for Brave Fighter

Elzaan Pienaar

Journalist

LUCIANO Dias is a brave little four-year-old who urgently needs proton beam therapy to treat a rare brain tumour.

This Albertonian was diagnosed with ependymoma in 2016 and has been fighting this tumour ever since.

Luciano’s story

“Luciano started vomiting on a daily basis every morning since February 2016. As parents, we did not think this was normal and naturally started to get concerned. We took Luciano to several doctors, all who said he was suffering from reflux and that it would go away. A few months later he started pointing to his head saying it was sore,” said his parents, Philip and Tania Dias.

In August 2016 Luciano’s symptoms became a little more distressing as he began vomiting more than usual. His parents decided to see another pediatrician who again prescribed medication for reflux. The doctor advised them that if he wasn’t better by the weekend they need to do an MRI because children his age (18 months at the time) should not be experiencing or complaining of headaches.

Read the full article here and find ways to help:

https://albertonrecord.co.za/202977/help-needed-for-brave-fighter/