A father loses his three children in four years due to a hereditary disease: "They never blamed me"

Few bereavements are as painful and intense as those of the death of a child and, even more so, when the death of all of them occurs in such a short period of time.

Thomas Osborne
Thomas Osborne
03 December 2022 Saturday 11:30
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A father loses his three children in four years due to a hereditary disease: "They never blamed me"

Few bereavements are as painful and intense as those of the death of a child and, even more so, when the death of all of them occurs in such a short period of time. Unfortunately it happens and this is what has happened to Régis Feitosa, a 52-year-old Brazilian who has lost his three children -Anna Carolina, Pedro and Beatriz- in less than four and a half years due to a rare disease that he inherited from them. .

This father of a family and his three children were diagnosed in 2016 with a hereditary syndrome known as Li-Fraumeni, caused by a genetic mutation that significantly increases the risk of cancer. "The results showed that I had a genetic alteration that, unfortunately, was also transmitted to my children, and that it enhances the appearance of cancer," says the father in an interview for BBC Brazil.

According to Régis himself, there is no family history of this mutation in the TP53 gene. From it, the p53 protein is produced, which prevents the growth of tumors. This protein fulfills several functions, including stopping the growth of tumors.

In 2009, the eldest daughter of the family, Anna Carolina Feitosa, was diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia, a common type of cancer among children. At that time her daughter was 12 years old. Anna Carolina was able to deal with leukemia for years thanks to treatment.

"The second diagnosis (in the family) was in 2016, when I discovered that I had chronic lymphocytic leukemia, after presenting symptoms such as fever, neck swelling and weakness," the man details. At the same time, his middle son, Pedro, who was 17 years old at the time, was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a cancer that develops in the bone. It was at that moment that, given such apparent coincidence, they discovered that the father and his three children suffered from the syndrome.

Since then, Régis and the little ones underwent constant medical monitoring that would continue with the father of the family to this day. Unfortunately, her youngest daughter Beatriz, 9, was the first to die after she was also diagnosed with acute lymphocytic leukemia in 2017, for which she underwent a bone marrow transplant. However, the treatment could not reduce the aggressiveness of the cancer and she died in 2018 at just 10 years old.

A year after the little girl's death, another of her sons, Pedro, died of brain cancer, after his diagnosis of osteosarcoma. The young man faced several treatments but in 2019, the tumor ended his life. He was 22 years old when he died.

His eldest daughter, Anna Carolina, died on November 19 as a result of a brain tumor, despite having spent years fighting acute lymphocytic leukemia. The young woman was 25 years old. With her, Régis has said goodbye to all her children because of cancer.

For Régis, the loss of his children supposes the "alteration of the natural order of life". Despite everything, this Brazilian never felt guilty for having transmitted this disease to his children, who told him that he was just as much a victim as they were.

His way of living and seeing life has completely changed. Régis tries to "live intensely" and with "the greatest joy" while he continues to be treated for his chronic leukemia and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, which he was diagnosed with in 2021.

He confesses that he receives thousands of messages from people who have felt reflected in his story or that it has impacted them in some way. Régis does not want to miss the opportunity that his story serves to give more visibility to Li-Fraumeni syndrome, which for now has no cure.