Little Xavier’s tragic diagnosis after WCH told parents it was ‘nothing serious’

The WCH told them it wasn’t anything serious. Now the Pudovkin family is frantically fundraising to send their boy to one of the only places in the world that could still save him.

Little Xavier Pudovkin, 5, has a rare childhood cancer. He is pictured here with Danielle and Andrew, sister Isabelle and baby brother Benji who are fighting against time to save his life. Picture: Brenton Edwards

When Hungry Hippo-loving youngster Xavier Pudovkin suddenly became ill, his mum suspected he may have swallowed a marble from his favourite game and requested an X-ray.

The result was devastating, showing instead the then three-year-old had stage four neuroblastoma, a rare form of childhood cancer.

“He was a fit, healthy and energetic little boy who just came into our room one night, started rolling around on the bed before projectile vomiting,” mum Danielle said.

“Initially, we thought it was appendicitis due to the pain he was in; we called an ambulance but by the time he got to hospital he was fine, running around and playing.

“The doctors thought it may have been something he ate, or a virus.”

However, over the next few days the pattern would continue with little Xavier, who adores “superheroes, Port Adelaide’s Xavier Duursma and 7 NEWS’ weather reporter Amelia Mulcahy” complaining of a sore tummy but bouncing back after painkillers.

Young Xavier, pictured with his family, loves ‘superheroes, Port Adelaide’s Xavier Duursma and 7 NEWS’ weather reporter Amelia Mulcahy’. Picture: Brenton Edwards

“But by the end of the week he couldn’t climb up on our bed and was grabbing his chest and crying in agony … the pain had moved from his belly to his hips, back and then chest,” Mrs Pudovkin said.

Women’s and Children’s Hospital X-ray shock

Beside herself with worry, she took the little boy to Women’s and Children’s Hospital where, again, she was told it wasn’t anything serious.

“But I couldn’t leave it, I knew something was wrong and explained he loved playing the Hungry Hippo game, asking if it was possible he’d swallowed a ball that had got stuck somewhere in his belly,” Mrs Pudovkin said.

“I was told it wasn’t likely but they’d send him for an X-ray to make sure.

“(From there) it all happened so fast, we were in shock … (the doctors) didn’t refer to it as childhood cancer, just neuroblastoma and told us not ‘to google it’.”

Within days, just before Easter 2021, the “cheeky, charismatic” little boy had started what would turn into 18 months of gruelling treatment – including surgery to remove the tumour, chemotherapy, radiation and six months of immunotherapy.

Finally in remission, he relapsed six months later.

The heartache for his family – plumber dad Andrew, big sister Isabelle, 7, and eight-month-old baby Benjamin – compounded when told treatment available in Australia had, at most, a 20 per cent chance of success, a statistic his loving mum and dad can’t accept.

Little Xavier with mum Danielle in hospital follow his relapse with a rare childhood cancer. His family is desperate to get him to the US on a clinical trial to boost his chances of beating the disease. Picture: Facebook, Rare Cancers

Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Centre clinical trials

The small business owners are now frantically fundraising to try and get Xavier, now five, to the US and into one of two clinical trials being offered there; one is in North Carolina, the other at the Memorial Sloan Kettering (MSK) Cancer Centre in New York.

“For now, Andrew and I kind of just high five each other in the corridor, he is working 12-hour days, I am busy fundraising, looking after the kids … I am not going to lose Xavier to this; when there are treatments available I am going to fight so hard for him,” Mrs Pudovkin said

“Everyone who meets Xave, loves him … he has just so much personality but he is so sweet too, he will just come up to me, and will start rubbing my back and say, ‘you know, I will look after you too’.”

To help visit Rare Cancers Australia – Helping Xavier.