When Healers Become Parents: Israeli Oncologists Face Their Children's Cancer
Israeli doctors share their harrowing personal experiences of balancing medical careers and the treatment of their young children diagnosed with aggressive pediatric cancers.
When Dr. Yair Hezekiah-Steinberg, an oncology resident at Sheba Medical Center, began his Ph.D. in cancer research, his daughter Mika was born. When she turned one, following weeks of pain and uncertainty, she was diagnosed with neuroblastoma, a cancerous tumor that pressed on her spinal cord. Dr. Einav Levin Ben-Adiva, a pediatrician, examined her and immediately sent her to the emergency room at Schneider Children's Medical Center, where the staff quickly diagnosed her and she began immediate treatment.
"I didn't want to believe it. I was simply in shock, struck dumb," Dr. Hezekiah-Steinberg recalls. Having already been closely familiar with the world of cancer, the diagnosis was particularly jarring for him. "It was a very heavy blow. At first, I pretty much denied the possibility, but from the moment we understood this was it, we fought with all our might and did everything possible to give her the best treatment."
Balancing Research, Work, and Survival
During that period, Dr. Hezekiah-Steinberg was pursuing his doctorate and not actively practicing clinical medicine, focusing instead on medical research. "It was a very challenging period, and thankfully there was a lot of consideration from my advisors. In practice, at that time I was mostly occupied with my daughter."
Reflecting on the aftermath of treatment, he notes the lingering psychological toll: "From the environment's perspective, there is sometimes a feeling of 'you finished treatments, it's over,' but it's not really over. You continue to deal with it all the time. Every check-up brings you back to the difficult moments and thoughts about the disease. It's a bit like post-trauma."
A Second Blow: Dr. Hila Nobel's Story
Cancer also knocked on the door of Dr. Hila Nobel, an adult oncology resident, long before she became an oncologist. Her eldest daughter, Eve, was diagnosed with neuroblastoma at the age of one year and three months. The treatments were exceptionally complex; the tumor caused paralysis, requiring emergency surgery and prolonged rehabilitation. Despite grim prognoses, Eve beat the disease, learned to walk again, and eventually integrated into regular schooling through the "Dream Kindergarten" run by the Gadol MeChaim (Larger Than Life) association. She is now nine years old.
Years later, however, the family faced the exact same reality when her younger daughter, Maya, was diagnosed with leukemia at nearly the same age. "When Eve got sick, it was a total surprise," Dr. Nobel says. "When you get the bitter news about Maya, it was déjà vu. Same explanations, same treatments, day hospitalizations. But this time we were at a different place in life, with two other children at home."
To manage the immense demands, Dr. Nobel paused her residency for a year. "My work did not allow me to be half at work and half a mother. The disease required hospitalizations, 24-hour supervision, and dealing with side effects."
The Role of Specialized Frameworks
Efrat Lichtman, CEO of the Gadol MeChaim association, emphasizes that childhood cancer is an entire family journey. Through specialized educational and rehabilitative frameworks like the Dream Kindergarten, children undergoing cancer treatment receive the necessary support to continue learning, playing, and dreaming, helping restore a sense of normalcy and hope to affected families.
