Like many little boys, Cruz Bitanga isn’t a big fan of sitting still. The 8-year-old loves swimming at the beach, playing basketball, or running around with kids in his neighborhood—usually telling jokes all along the way. Then, one day, Cruz felt a pain in his right knee. X-rays showed a mass in his knee. A biopsy revealed it was cancer.

The Bitanga family received specialized pediatric cancer care only available at Kapi‘olani Medical Center for Women & Children. Pediatric oncologist Dr. Darryl Glaser diagnosed Cruz with osteosarcoma. Cancerous cells grow inside the bone, so removing it completely, or amputation, is often the only way to ensure the cancer is completely gone.

“I told him we have to get the cancer out, and that means we have to remove your leg,” Charli Bitanga, Cruz’s mother, says. “He just said, ‘OK, well if that’s what we need to do, then that’s what we need to do, because I want to run and play again.’”

The surgery was just one part of Cruz’s journey. He still faced months of treatments.

“Chemotherapy regimens are different for different types of cancer. For osteosarcoma, Cruz received most of his treatments in the hospital, sometimes staying for as long as three days,” Dr. Glaser states. “In addition to nausea, chemotherapy can cause many side effects that we may also need to treat, so we’re checking all of those things constantly.”

More than 200 children are diagnosed with or treated for cancer at Kapi‘olani every year. Soon, they will be able to receive lifesaving care in a center designed just for them. The new Martha B. Smith Cancer & Infusion Center will encompass the latest technology and treatments for pediatric, breast, and gynecologic cancers, as well as autoimmune and neuromuscular diseases. Named in honor of passionate and visionary Kapi‘olani CEO, the late Martha B. Smith, the center will comfortably accommodate families and friends who are supporting patients through their challenging medical journeys. It will also serve as a collaborative space for the multiple cancer care specialists who work toward a shared goal: turning cancer patients into cancer survivors.

Seven months after he first felt the pain in his knee, Cruz became a cancer survivor. Now, he is learning how to do all the things he loves with his new prosthetic leg. He’s already back on the basketball court, and this time he has an entire team from Kapi‘olani behind him.

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