Ukrainian Children With Cancer Airlifted From Poland To Tennessee To Resume Treatment

Four cancer-stricken children from Ukraine seeking refuge in the neighboring country of Poland were airlifted to Memphis, Tennessee, along with some immediate family members, the U.S. State Department said.

The children — aged 9 months to 9 years — will resume cancer treatment after it was stalled in their home country due to the Russian invasion.

“The Department of State has coordinated with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital to provide necessary life-saving and immediate care to four Ukrainian children whose ongoing cancer treatment was disrupted by President Putin’s war of choice,” read a statement released Tuesday. “The Department supported airlift of these pediatric oncology patients and some of their immediate family members from Poland to Memphis International Airport, where they were met and transported to St. Jude.”

St. Jude said in a press release that it was the first hospital in the U.S. to receive Ukrainian patients and will provide them with cancer care, “trauma-informed psychosocial therapy” and also a school curriculum for them and their siblings, according to CBS News.

“The patients will be able to safely resume critical cancer therapy disrupted by the Kremlin's aggression. They will receive the specialized care they desperately need, and their family members will be afforded sustenance, security, and support from St. Jude,” State Department spokesperson Ned Price said Tuesday, according to CNN.

The children were brought to Memphis as part of St. Jude Global's SAFER Ukraine, a humanitarian effort that is aimed at rescuing children with cancer from war-torn areas. So far, the initiative has helped over 600 patients with coordination of convoys, translation of medical records, and transportation to other European cancer centers.

Price also said that first lady Jill Biden is planning to meet the four Ukrainian children Friday. Biden’s spokesperson Michael LaRosa also confirmed to CNN that the first lady will be traveling to the hospital to personally meet the children.

The four airlifted children “represent a small proportion of the thousands of patients whose cancer treatment has been interrupted and, who, even amid a pandemic and with compromised immune systems, were forced to flee their homes,” Price said in his statement.

“That is why, together with our allies and partners, we will continue to support our Ukrainian partners as we seek to save lives and bring this needless war to a close,” he added.