Jorge Noguera

Jorge Noguera is a healthy, active, talkative little boy. He thinks nothing of overcoming a serious childhood cancer or how he went through surgery and months of chemotherapy and radiation treatment. But for Jorge, that memory is as normal as playing video games or eating a hot dog.

His parents, Juan Antonio and Susana, had a tougher time dealing with Jorge's illness. They traveled from their home in Spain to seek treatment at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Not only was their little boy diagnosed with cancer, they were far from home and faced with a new language and a new culture.

The Road to Mayo Clinic

During Easter 2002, 5-year-old Jorge and his family went on a skiing trip. Jorge's grandmother mentioned that his nose had grown and it seemed to be getting bigger. Jorge's mother, Susana, was skeptical, but she touched the area and found a hard lump on the side of Jorge's nose.

Worried, Jorge's parents took him to the family pediatrician in their hometown on the Mediterranean island of Ibiza, just off the coast of Spain. The pediatrician prescribed antibiotics, but there was no change.

They scheduled an appointment with a specialist in Barcelona. The doctor decided to remove the lump, thinking surgery would be fairly simple. However, the surgery lasted over four hours, and the doctor removed a small cancerous tumor from the side of Jorge's nose.

Juan Antonio and Susana were told that Jorge had alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma, an especially dangerous and rare soft tissue cancer found in children and young adults. It usually occurs in the extremities, but 30 percent of the cases arise in the neck or head, like Jorge's.

Jorge's parents knew this was serious. They told their doctor, "We want the best." The doctor told them, "If you want the best, you go to the States," and he arranged for them to make the trip to Mayo Clinic in Rochester.

Juan Antonio, Susana and Jorge arrived in Rochester in April 2002. Jorge's sister, Alba, stayed in Spain with relatives. She joined the family two months later.

Mayo physician Kerry Olsen, M.D., recommended that Jorge have a second surgery to make sure the tumor had been completely removed. The family also met with Carola Arndt, M.D., a pediatric oncologist at Mayo, to find out what had to be done to treat Jorge's cancer.

Dr. Arndt informed Jorge's family that the cancer was localized and had not spread beyond the initial tumor. However, due to the nature of the cancer, Jorge still needed aggressive treatment. Her recommendation: 40 weeks of treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation. She told the family that they should stay in Rochester for Jorge's treatment.

"I was so shocked. I couldn't believe that it would take 40 weeks," Susana says. "But my husband said, 'If they recommend that we stay, we stay.'"

So they stayed, first in a hotel and then at the Ronald McDonald House in Rochester. It was to be their home for the next 11 months.

Jorge's Treatment

Initially Jorge had chemotherapy every week. Every third week, he was hospitalized overnight at Mayo Eugenio Litta Children's Hospital for more chemotherapy, a combination of three very powerful cancer-fighting drugs.

Several months into his chemotherapy treatments, Jorge also began six weeks of radiation therapy on his face. He had shots and blood transfusions often, to keep his blood counts up and keep him healthy. He was also plagued with fevers, and each fever meant a trip to the hospital.

Life in Rochester

"The beginning was hard. We had to face it — that our son had cancer," Susana says. "Then, we were in another country, another language."

Susana and Juan Antonio both spoke some English, but Jorge and Alba did not. During Jorge's treatment, the children were enrolled at Riverside Central Elementary. Jorge, a first grader, attended school between chemotherapy treatments.

"We almost had a normal life here," Susana says. "Rochester was our second home."

Going Home

Jorge's parents had more to worry about than just his treatment. As Spanish citizens, they were allowed to stay in the United States for 90 days without visas. Once the family was in the United States, however, they could not change or extend their status.

Their best legal option was to return to Spain, in the middle of Jorge's treatment, to get their visas. No one knew for sure if they would be able to return to the United States.

Luckily, Jorge was doing well at the time, and his physicians cleared him to make the trip at the end of September. Jorge and his family went home, received their visas and returned to Mayo Clinic two days later. Everything went smoothly, and Jorge was allowed to finish his treatment at Mayo.

The last two months of treatment were hard on Jorge. His legs hurt, and he had to be given morphine during chemotherapy. He also needed blood transfusions and had to spend more time in the hospital during his chemotherapy treatments.

At the beginning of March, doctors found a suspicious spot on his lung. He had surgery to remove it, but fortunately it was benign. Jorge finished his treatment, and he and his family finally returned to Spain at the end of March.

Jorge and his family will return to Mayo every few months for checkups, and Jorge is happy to make the trip. Mayo Clinic had been a huge part of his life for nearly a year, and he and his family made many friends during their stay in Rochester.

Susana appreciates all the help and support from Mayo Clinic doctors and nurses. She is thankful for the treatment that Jorge received, and now her son has a bright future ahead of him.

"At the end, when we look back, we are happy about everything."