Galina Kukudzhanova

Years later, Galina would describe the day they discovered inoperable cancer in both of her daughter’s kidneys as like winning the lottery.

Galina had brought her 18-month-old daughter in for a routine checkup. Little Valeria was so well-behaved that the ultrasound technician suggested checking something else. He scored a direct hit with the kidneys – a tumour was visible on both sides.

No one at the private clinic diagnosed her with cancer, as it wasn’t their area of expertise. The sonographer, however, immediately recognized what they were dealing with and wrote down the number of a specialist for Galina to contact. Today, she’s able to talk about it as if it were an easy thing to do, but back then she made audio recordings of her early experiences at the oncology clinic, hoping that she’d be able to make some kind of sense of it after she’d managed to stop crying.

“I’d also just started my new job at Kaspersky. And then this happened to me. I even considered quitting so that I wouldn’t be letting the team down, but my manager and I decided it would be best to stay. My colleagues and HR were all supportive, and I took medical leave to look after my daughter,” Galina says.

Next came a year and a half of chemotherapy. Twenty-eight cycles, to be precise. Each and every one is a serious ordeal for both the child and the parents. Chemotherapy is unforgiving – to the cancerous cells on the one hand, but the rest of the body too.

The tumour stopped growing. Early detection played an important role, and treatment began before the cancer metastasized.

“We spent a year and a half in cancer treatment, but we never got a biopsy. We were very lucky that the doctor taking care of us still had a relationship with his German colleagues in 2023. Our doctors in Moscow were led by German ideas, and it was those ideas that strictly ruled out a biopsy,” Galina explains. “One particular aspect of renal cancer is that the pseudocapsule, which envelops the tumour like a shell, is very fragile. If it gets damaged, there’s a high risk that the cancer cells will spread through the body, leading to metastases."

Valeria has finished her course of treatment, but the fight against cancer continues. Every couple of months, her mother takes her for MRIs and other procedures to ensure that the tumour isn’t growing and hasn’t metastasized. Undergoing such complex procedures at such a young age means going under general anaesthesia. A ventilator is used to help regulate breathing during the MRI.

“If the remission holds until the age of six or seven, the risk of relapse is very low. We need to hold out for another three years, or else it’ll be with us forever,” Galina says.

The majority of the cost of Valeria’s treatment is covered by state insurance. The remaining portion is paid for by the Gift of Life charity. “It’s a very important charity in our lives. We donate regularly and encourage everyone else to do the same,” Galina says. “We also have regular collections at work where we put toys into a ‘courage box’. These toys are given to children who have been through painful operations. We try to make sure the box is always full. We’ve taken things from courage boxes in the hospital so many times. Even if it’s only something small, it makes you feel better.”