“Since there was no treatment available at the hospital, I stayed too long with this tumor. My body finally gave up completely: I could no longer see, hear, speak, or move. Then I fell into a coma. Waiting: that’s what made my vision loss irreversible.”  – Anoushka 

At age 13, Anoushka was living in a refugee camp in Botswana. Without access to proper care, she gradually lost her sight before the tumor was even discovered. By the time she was diagnosed, it was already too late.

“The first few days after I woke up were the worst of my life. My brain couldn’t comprehend anything. I was lying in a hospital bed in another country. I was hallucinating… I couldn’t understand anything. ”   

Urgently medevaced, she wakes up in Montreal at the CHU Sainte-Justine. She learns that she is now 14 years old. Her birthday has passed. She has lost months of her life… and now has to start everything anew. 

“Missing all those big moments, like leaving the refugee camp for Canada, I feel like cancer stole a key moment in my life. Starting my life over from scratch in Quebec rather meant relearning how to walk, move, read, and write.” 

Re-learning the little things of everyday life 

“My cancer made me blind. To others, I may have been the same person, but for me, my world had fallen apart.” 

Anoushka left the hospital for the rehabilitation center to relearn everything. Inside, she was in turmoil: “What weighed on me the most was no longer the cancer, but the feeling of being alone to rebuild everything. That wasn’t me. I had to find a way to get back on my feet as quickly as possible.” 

Back home after several months, she realizes that obstacles kept getting in her way. Every day became a challenge: occupational therapy, physical therapy, sessions to relearn simple movements.  “I believe that true healing begins with the mind. If you decide to heal your mind, the body will follow.” 

Anoushka has traveled this path to recovery with determination and courage. But she was not alone. Your generosity accompanied her. 

Because beyond treatment, you have to relearn how to live. And that is precisely where your support makes all the difference.  

Your generosity has enabled her to find her voice. 

Recovery is not just about leaving the hospital. It is about rediscovering joy, community, self-confidence, and a sense of purpose. 

Before her cancer diagnosis, Anoushka loved to dance. Then everything stopped. “When I lost my sight and my body was paralyzed, I got scared that I would never be able to dance again. That’s when I fell in love with music.”  

In the hospital, music became her escape: 

“Music was all I had to keep me from sinking into depression. Whenever I felt very sad, I would sing. Everyone ended up calling me ‘the girl who sings’.” 

More than just music, singing has given Anoushka back her self-confidence and allowed her to forge friendships. It is now her compass, her guide. “My singing lessons helped me discover my potential and my voice. I bring my guitar to the different Leucan camps and sing for everybody. Music has become a way for me to meet others and build relationships. I’m even considering a future in music in CEGEP.” 

Your support has turned a recovery into a transformation. You are now part of Anoushka’s story forever.   

“I don’t know if donors realize how much they change lives. They changed mine. Thanks to them, Leucan paid for my private Braille lessons and singing lessons.    

Knowing that people support me gave me the strength to keep going. If they believe I can do it, then it’s possible.”  

Why is September special for Leucan? 

Childhood Cancer Awareness Month reminds us of a simple truth: access to care and services makes all the difference. Your generosity funds clinical research, therapies, and human support that transform lives like Anoushka’s. 

Here is what you have made possible for her:  

• Access to some of the best treatment in the world at the hospital   

• Access to personalized support and massages that help both physically and mentally to relieve her pain;    

• Braille lessons and home support, as well as adapted tools;   

• Services that break the isolation and restore confidence, such as singing lessons and sociorecreational activities. 

Today, you can offer this same opportunity to other children and teenagers: help them rebuild their lives after illness, enable them to rediscover a passion, forge friendships, and believe in their future again.  

So that others can find their voice: