Children hurt themselves in simple accidents every day — it’s part of being a child. But it’s not every day that a broken foot turns into a cancer diagnosis. For four-year-old Rita’s family, nothing could’ve been more unexpected. And nothing could’ve been scarier.
In April 2024, little Rita broke her foot jumping on a trampoline. Her parents brought her to AHC, where our doctors were quickly able to fix up her foot and send her home. At the time, nothing seemed unusual.
But a month later, Rita’s father Davuth noticed her leg swelling.
“I didn’t notice any other signs of something wrong with her. She didn’t show any symptoms except for her swollen leg, so I just thought she hurt it again. I brought her back to AHC to get it checked.”
Davuth, Rita’s father
Soon, both of Rita’s legs were swelling. At first, our doctors suspected she had juvenile idiopathic arthritis, a form of arthritis in children. But when Rita started inexplicably bleeding, our oncologists decided to perform a bone marrow biopsy to check for cancer. The tests confirmed what they’d feared: little Rita had T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia.
“I was so afraid when I heard my only child had cancer. I’d heard this type of illness requires treatment that’s expensive and difficult to get in Cambodia. We’re farmers in a rural area — without AHC, we never would’ve been able to afford Rita’s treatment.”
Davuth, Rita’s father
Our medical social work team covered all of Rita’s medical costs while our oncology team started Rita on a course of chemotherapy. T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia is an aggressive bone cancer requiring lots of aggressive medication. This can make it a particularly brutal illness, especially for young children. But throughout her seven months of treatment, Rita has remained her positive and playful self, not letting her illness dampen her spirits.
Now, Rita is on her fourth phase of chemotherapy. She’s eating well and no longer has any lumps or bleeding. After finishing all five phases of chemotherapy, our oncologists will continue following up with her for the next five years to ensure the cancer doesn’t return.
“Every time I come to AHC, they give us excellent care and are so kind and open. At first, I had no hope when I heard Rita had cancer — but I know AHC. They’re my daughter’s only hope. I’m truly grateful.”
Davuth, Rita’s father
