jacopo, Italy

Our beloved daughter Clara died on 3 September 2024 at the age of 14 from an intracranial sarcoma with a DICER1 mutation. We discovered the tumour due to a sudden cerebral haemorrhage in February 2023. Clara had very few symptoms, so it was impossible for us to diagnose the tumour earlier. Clara had to undergo four neurosurgeries, chemotherapy, radiotherapy and much more, but she was always brave and received support from all the medical staff, first in Italy at the National Cancer Institute and other hospitals, and then, at the end of her life, at the Tuca hospice in São Paulo. Although her life was short and she had to endure great suffering in her last year and a half, Clara always conveyed love, joy and gratitude until the end, and always wanted to give her life greater meaning. With her, and thanks to her, we lived each day more intensely since her cancer diagnosis. Every day she was not undergoing treatment, we spent living life to the fullest, attending concerts, exhibitions, walking in nature, and many other unforgettable moments. A few months before she died, after a relapse that had weakened her considerably, Clara left me a note on my birthday to thank me for being by her side and helping her to live, adding, “because life is not only in our bodies, but also in the light that shines in our hearts”. I hope that in this message of infinite love will find hope and courage all children, patients and families that have to face a tumor. Every day, when I ask myself disconsolately where Clara is, I find the answer all around me. Clara is everywhere, in all the beauty of the world, in a child's laughter, in flowers, in the flight of a bird, in sunrises, sunsets and stars shining in the sky. https://youtu.be/Qq4zSNAxdw0?si=Nmhrs9hqFVM9YUdZ