Oncology pediatrician.
I treated children with cancer.
Since when?
Forty-two years, since 1975.
Children of what ages?
From infants to adolescents aged 14 years.
How many children were cured in 1975?
50%.
And today?
82%.
What has changed in half a century?
In 1975 there were no ultrasounds, no CT scans, no MRIs, no scanners.
And how did you diagnose?
With x-rays and invasive, risky interventions.
When is a child cured?
When it is clean of cancer cells and continues like this for four years in a row.
It will have thousands of stories…
Some cured children are today oncologist doctors and nurses.
Exciting!
I am a doctor because when I was five years old I had poliomyelitis and many doctors took care of me. And I was cured and could walk.
Were there doctors in your family?
No. My father became unemployed as a commercial agent and replaced him by giving injections. He had studied for ATS. That’s why he forced his children to study for internships, in case another job failed us.
And you ended up being a doctor.
I entered as a resident at the Vall d’Hebron university hospital. And I became a pediatrician because of the example of two people.
What two people?
The head of service and the head of section of the children with cancer ward. Pediatricians of colossal human greatness.
Tell me their names, let’s honor them.
Doctor Jordi Prats Viñas: like a second father to me. Doctor Josep Padullés: great clinician, I enjoyed listening to him.
What did you learn from them?
The important thing: humanity. They taught me that you have to treat the child including her family: parents, siblings, grandparents…
What else.
There is no need to rush into decisions.
What else.
The human aspect is always a priority in good medicine, and telling the truth.
After 42 years of medicine, what else have you learned?
Pharmacology advances. But what is human matters more.
Give me some minor.
Daily dealings with the patient matter. It is important that he knows that he can call you at any time. Empathy matters: child and family must feel that you are part of their life. Everything to remove anguish.
Any tips that help?
I treated your child (“how are you?”) and I wasn’t wearing a white coat.
More tricks.
You should never give your child painful or unpleasant tests in his or her room. His room is his refuge!
How many cases do we have today?
Between 1980 and 2023, 30,000 cases in Spain. We diagnose 1,200 new cases a year; 220 in Catalonia. 2% of all cancers are childhood: 140 new cases per million inhabitants per year.
What cancers are most common in childhood?
Three: acute lymphoblastic leukemia (25% of diagnoses). The bone marrow does not produce healthy blood, it requires a hematopoietic transplant.
¿Hematopoyético?
We extract bone marrow from the child’s hip and generate healthy blood outside. After drying the diseased marrow with chemotherapy, we transplant and regenerate.
The second childhood cancer is…
Tumors in the central nervous system, in the cerebellum. Your treatment is about to improve a lot with proton therapy: the tumor is attacked with protons and heals without so many side effects. A proton machine is arriving in Catalonia!
And the third tumor…
Lymphoma: cancer of the lymphatic system.
Remind me of one of thousands of children.
A girl with an abdominal tumor did not respond, she died. A new drug arrived: in 48 hours the tumor disappeared.
Long live the pharmacopoeia! And psychology?
The healing begins with the smile of the cleaner, the caretaker who tells the child about football, the “good morning” of the nurse… More experienced psychologists integrated into the medical team.
And the families.
I moved to get the Ronald McDonald Foundation to open accommodation for the child’s relatives near the hospital.
Did you like the Red Bracelets series?
It was good work that helped socially normalize the existence and life of children with cancer.
