He received chemotherapy for 2 and a half years with a wrong diagnosis! The 6-year-old child, whose hair was falling out, turned out to have rheumatism.

Six-year-old Buğra Koç, who lives in Gaziantep, underwent chemotherapy treatment for about 2.5 years for the misdiagnosis of hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) when he was three years old. During this process, it was revealed that the little boy, who could not recover, had systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, also known as fever-inflammatory rheumatism, after extensive examinations conducted at another hospital. Hatice Koç, the mother of the child, who went through very difficult days during this process, said that they complained about the responsible doctors, stating that they received unnecessary chemotherapy treatment and narrowly escaped a bone marrow transplant.

A health scandal that made people say "This cannot be" occurred in Gaziantep and Adana. Buğra Koç, the son of Hatice-Süleyman Koç couple living in Gaziantep, suddenly fell ill at the age of 3 in 2021. Despite all the tests performed on three-year-old Buğra, no definitive diagnosis could be made.

HE RECEIVED CHEMOTHERAPY FOR 2.5 YEARS UNNECESSARILY

Finally, the family, who applied to two separate state hospitals in Gaziantep and Adana, was told that Buğra had hemophagocytic lymphohistiocytosis (HLH) and that they needed to start chemotherapy treatment urgently at the hospital in Adana. After the doctors' diagnosis, chemotherapy and cortisone treatment were started for little Buğra, who was 3 years old at that time. During this process, the child's hair fell out and he started to gain excessive weight due to the effects of treatment and medication.

DIAGNOSED WITH RHEUMATISM

After about 2.5 years of treatment without any improvement, Hatice-Süleyman Koç couple applied to a private hospital in Adana. After extensive examinations at the private hospital, it was stated that little Buğra had systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis, also known as fever-inflammatory rheumatism, and that the treatment required a vaccine to be administered every 2 weeks. Hatice Koç, the mother of the child, who went through very difficult days during this process, said that they complained about the responsible doctors, stating that they received unnecessary chemotherapy treatment and narrowly escaped a bone marrow transplant.

"THE CHILD STARTED TO SWELL"

Telling about the difficult days they experienced, Hatice Koç said, "In 2021, we went to every private hospital in Gaziantep due to high fever. All the doctors came to us during the time we stayed there and said, 'we cannot reduce the child's infection, there is something else wrong with your child.' We went to a state hospital in Adana. They told us that the result would come out within 2 months by taking fluid from his waist. They gave us cortisone treatment. Everything was fine. Then the child started to swell. When we went to our doctor after two months, they said there was nothing wrong with your child. We returned home in good condition." she explained what happened.

"I WISH IT WAS CANCER INSTEAD OF THIS DISEASE"

Hatice Koç, who stated that the same complaints started again in the child after 10 days, said, "We called Adana and they told us to bring the child. Afterwards, they told us that we needed to start chemotherapy directly for our child. They said that our child had a disease called hemophagocytic syndrome and said, 'I wish it was cancer instead of this disease.' We were shocked. When my husband and I heard this statement, we were devastated. We stayed in the hospital for another 15 days. We received the first 2 doses of chemotherapy there. Then we continued the treatment at a state hospital in Gaziantep. Our son received chemotherapy and cortisone treatment for a full 2.5 years. The child went through various changes." she said.

"A BONE MARROW TRANSPLANT WAS GOING TO BE DONE UNNECESSARILY"

The mother, who said that the treatment for the disease was a bone marrow transplant and that they narrowly escaped the transplant due to incompatibility, said, "The doctor told us that if a bone marrow transplant was not performed, we could lose our child. We started the screening process. The parents were not compatible. They told us to take whoever we had from relatives to Adana and have it done, and said, 'if he has another attack, we will lose the child, the only solution is a transplant.' Afterwards, we could not find a suitable marrow. We hastily finished our treatment here after 2.5 years, but there was no improvement." she used the expressions.