A mother has expressed her frustration at a raft of medical staff, including a specialist, who failed to diagnose her son’s bone cancer 12 months ago.
Yavuz Yalcin, nine, underwent multiple scans, MRIs and X-rays after complaining about pain in his right leg, knee and foot at the beginning of October, 2023.
His parents’ concerns were dismissed by medical practitioners who failed to discover the year four student’s tumour on his spine.
‘They made me feel crazy,’ Yavuz’s mother, Gulsum Buket Yalcin, told Daily Mail Australia.
After Yavuz experienced pain in his right leg for about three months, his family, from Erskine Park in Sydney‘s west, took him to their local hospital.
Yavuz was admitted and had X-rays on his hip, leg, knee and foot – but medical staff couldn’t find anything wrong.
‘They said to me they had ruled out «things like cancer and tumours»,’ Gulsum Buket said.
The hospital staff gave referrals for MRIs on Yavuz’s knee and foot and the hospital booked the family in for follow-up appointments.
Despite undergoing multiple tests and seeing a specialist, medical staff failed to consider the pain Yavuz Yalcin, nine, (pictured) was experiencing could be referred pain from his spine
The year-four student (pictured) missed weeks of school in 2023 because of tests to find out why he was having pain in his right leg, knee and foot. After only discovering a tumour on Yavuz’s spine recently, the keen student now has a 12-month battle on his hands
But all tests came back clear.
By this stage the soon-to-be-ten-year-old was limping and using crutches.
Yavuz then started seeing a physiotherapist at the same hospital, and was soon given a referral to see an orthopaedic surgeon on December 6.
But four days before the specialist’s appointment, Yavuz’s pain suddenly ceased and he stopped using his crutches.
‘The doctor said, «He’s walking OK, it’s not painful anymore»,’ Gulsum Buket said.
‘They said, «It’s a bit of a mystery».
‘The specialist told me, «Why are you here? Why did you bring him – he’s fine».
‘I said, «I’m trying to do the right thing as a mother – I want to know what’s going on with him».’
Gulsum Buket said she wanted answers because she knows her son better than anyone – and he would never complain of experiencing pain if he wasn’t feeling it.
‘I know my child, but unfortunately I was being treated like I was crazy,’ she said.
Yavuz (pictured when he was younger) is frustrated that it took a year to find out he had cancer
The close family are going through a huge financial strain, with Yavuz’s mother Gulsum Buket having to stop working. But the family still needs to pay for childcare so her husband can keep working (pictured L-R Yavuz, Gulsum Buket, Sevki and the family’s two-year-old boy)
‘We attended the appointment for five minutes and were charged a $300 consultation fee.
‘I should have trusted my instinct. I thought I was getting a second opinion from the specialist.’
In June this year, Yavuz’s pain came back.
‘We thought maybe he had an injury, maybe he had muscle pain, maybe he has growing pains.’
The mother said they applied hot packs, gave him painkillers, massaged his leg and applied creams, as well as taking him to their GP again and having more X-rays.
‘No-one ever said this could be a referred pain from his spine,’ Buket said.
After Yavuz complained of terrible pain one night in late July, Sevki took him back to their local hospital – but Buket knew they wouldn’t get results.
‘They did nothing. I saw we were repeating the same cycle,’ she said.
After taking her son to Westmead Children’s Hospital, Yavuz was crucially given a referral for an MRI on his spine – which picked up a mass.
The nine-year-old was soon diagnosed with Ewing Sarcoma, a type of bone cancer.
Yavuz’s mother described her 9-year-old son as a ‘gentle’ big brother and someone who ‘loves his friends’ (pictured Yavuz, right, with his brother)
The family started fighting for a diagnosis a year ago and Yavuz’s mum, Gulsum Buket, said she was treated by many medical professionals as ‘crazy’
‘Unfortunately we were diagnosed late – one year later,’ Gulsum Buket said.
‘Because there are no other scans to compare from a year ago, (the cancer’s progress) is unfortunately uncertain.
‘But he got metastatic on his lungs. There are four small tumours.
‘Maybe he wouldn’t have had that last year.’
The ‘gentle’ and caring big brother to his two-year-old sibling was also frustrated at being diagnosed late.
‘He said straight away if they would have diagnosed him last year he would have finished the treatment by now,’ Gulsum Buket said.
Yavuz is now undergoing twelve months of intensive chemotherapy and radiotherapy, but his prognosis remains uncertain.
Buket said her son has an adventurous spirit, loves the beach and nature – and wants to be a YouTuber when he is older.
Yavuz, who loves maths and science, misses his school friends.
‘He loves chatting, he loves his friends a lot. Everyone’s calling from his school,’ she said.
Gulsum Buket (left) with Yavuz (right) has exhausted all her leave because of the many medical appointments and has put her job on hold so she can be with her son as he fights his bone cancer
One of the hardest moments since receiving Yavuz’s diagnosis was the loss of his hair, which his mother said was ‘long and gorgeous’.
‘I promised him I am going to shave my hair off too.’
Making their battle even harder is the family’s financial situation. Buket stopped work in late July to be with her sick son, on top of paying for many private medical tests.
And with her husband needing to work, the family pays for daycare for their two-year-old.
Gulsum Buket said the one ray of light is that the chemo hasn’t impacted Yavuz’s appetite yet – and he is craving McDonald’s.
When McDonald’s Australia licensee Alex Lee heard about Yavuz’s appetite for his favourite meal, he was only too happy to bring joy to the nine-year-old and his family.
Yavuz (pictured left with his younger sibling) has an adventurous spirit and is good at maths and science
Mr Lee, whose restaurants in Western Sydney include the one closest to the family – McDonalds St Clair – told Daily Mail Australia he would love to donate $1,000 and Happy Meal vouchers to help support Yavuz and his family.
Gulsum Buket’s workplace have helped set up a GoFundMe page to help the family with their bills.
‘Everyday is challenging for us at the moment. I don’t know what is going to happen next,’ she said.
The family is urging the medical profession to listen to parents – and children – more.
‘I think doctors have to take people more seriously – especially if a kid is in pain,’ she said.
