Yaroslavl Boy Needs Proton Therapy for Brain Tumor
Trouble came to the home of Tatyana Levchenko from Krasny Bor near Yaroslavl at the end of 2025. Her 10-year-old son Sergey fell seriously ill. He had always been an active, cheerful child, interested in many things, participating in olympiads, and attending a robotics club. But everything changed on October 27.
«Sergey was getting ready for school, had breakfast, and suddenly he started vomiting heavily. He was sick for about an hour. After that, he lay down all day, refusing to eat or drink,» Tatyana said.
The mother called the local doctor from the clinic. She suspected the child had an intestinal infection, prescribed treatment, and told them to come for an appointment in a week.
A few days later, Sergey felt better and his appetite returned, but the vomiting repeated. After that, the boy again began to refuse food and slept a lot. His mother consulted a neurologist, who gave a referral for an MRI. The examination took place on November 25.
«When the MRI doctor gave us the report, his hands were shaking badly. He said we urgently needed to see a neurosurgeon,» Tatyana recalls.
The report stated that a neoplasm had been detected in the boy«s head. As it turned out a little later, it was a germinoma.
A germinoma is a tumor, most often malignant, located in the deep structures of the brain.
«We were in shock. We didn«t tell Sergey exactly what he had. We encouraged him,» Tatyana said.
By that time, the child was already having difficulty moving around.
«He would walk to the nearest bench, sit down, and say, «I»m a sloth.« All our further trips to doctors were only by taxi,» Tatyana recalls.
According to the woman, the appointment with the neurosurgeon was quick. The doctor said such cases are not operated on in Yaroslavl and referred the family to the Burdenko Neurosurgery Center in Moscow. There, they planned to operate on Sergey, but in the end, the doctors concluded that it should not be done, as the neoplasm is located in a deep part of the brain and connected to important structures.
The only suitable treatment method in this case, according to specialists, is proton beam therapy — targeted irradiation with protons that can destroy the tumor without damaging healthy tissue.
The procedure can be performed at the Berezin Sergey Medical Institute Proton Therapy Center in St. Petersburg. The cost of the operation is over 4 million rubles (approximately $45,000 at current rates).
According to Tatyana, the medical institution told her that there is no state quota for 2026 yet, and it is unknown when they will appear, but treatment is needed now, as the child«s condition is worsening. The boy is currently in the intensive care unit at a children»s hospital in St. Petersburg.
When Sergey«s symptoms appeared, the boy»s father was looking for work, and Tatyana herself worked in a call center. But due to the need to be with her son, she had to quit.
«For our family, the necessary amount is unaffordable,» Tatyana says.
The woman turned for help to «Rusfond,» a charitable foundation, which organized a fundraiser for Sergey. So far, just over a million rubles have been received. About three million more are needed.
«Please help save my son!» the boy«s mother appealed to caring people.
Information for those who wish and can offer support is available here.
