Images of his grandmother, who succumbed to cancer four years ago, flashed through 13-year-old Andrew Borg Carbott's mind when he was diagnosed with a tumour.
"I thought I was going to die as well," he said as he arranged his black and white baseball cap.
It was the word cancer that sent chills down his spine, bringing back memories of his maternal grandmother. But seven weeks and a surgery later, his outlook has changed, and the cancer is responding to treatment.
Another young cancer patient had prepared him for what to expect. "He told me what the side effects were likely to be. It helps to speak to someone who has already gone through it," he said. Andrew is one of the patients receiving treatment at Mater Dei Hospital's Rainbow Ward, where rooms are splashed with colourful images of popular cartoon characters.
"Sometimes it's better to come here than being at home," he said. Pointing to the multitude of toys that cover the carpeted floor, Andrew said it gave his five-year-old sister something to do during the long days when he was recovering in hospital.
"She would have got bored otherwise."
He admitted to missing school, which is starting around this time. "I cannot wait to go back." He plans to study drama and wants to become a teacher.
During a visit to the ward yesterday, President George Abela said treating young cancer patients was an investment in the future.
"Treatment gives hope to both the children and their parents," he said, adding that patients were at the forefront of his thoughts, heart and actions, and pledged that the Malta Community Chest Fund would continue working to help them.
He thanked the Puttinu Cares Children Cancer Support Group, which has over the years helped patients and their families, even raising money to buy apartments in London where they could stay while receiving treatment.
Consultant paediatrician Victor Calvagna said that in developed countries around the world, including Malta, the survival rate stands around 75 per cent, and a lot of the treatment is carried out in Malta.
Dr Calvagna said the most common paediatric cancers were leukaemia, brain tumours and lymphoma.