Mustafa Yaşar, who was diagnosed with aplastic anemia, a blood disorder, and later acute leukemia at just 17 years old, was discharged as a medical student from Üsküdar Üniversitesi, the hospital where he underwent intensive treatment for 7 years. Wanting to touch the lives of others and become a doctor like the physicians who treated him, Yaşar never gave up in his fight against cancer and gained admission to Üsküdar Üniversitesi Faculty of Medicine on his third attempt at the university entrance exam. Yaşar, now a third-year medical student at Üsküdar Üniversitesi, who received chemotherapy treatment for years and regained his health with a bone marrow transplant from his elder brother, said, “I never wanted to choose another profession; I wanted to follow in my professors’ footsteps.”
Source: CNNTURK
Mustafa Yaşar, 24, who came from Eskişehir to Istanbul for treatment in 2016 with a blood disease diagnosis, struggled with aplastic anemia, which he contracted at age 17, for a long time. After the necessary treatments, Yaşar overcame the disease, but shortly thereafter, he was diagnosed with acute leukemia. For leukemia treatment, Yaşar first underwent chemotherapy, followed by a bone marrow transplant from his elder brother, despite not being 100% compatible. Stating that he is currently as healthy as possible, Yaşar said, “I was hospitalized at 17, and I had my first shave in the hospital. I never gave up on my goals, nor do I regret it. I want to tell all patients that things can be achieved when desired or believed in, and I want to be a source of hope.”
“WE, AS A TEAM, LOVED MUSTAFA’S DETERMINATION AND ENTHUSIASM”
Prof. Dr. Serdar Bedii Omay, a Hematology specialist at Emsey Hospital, who has been battling alongside Yaşar since he was 17, spoke about the processes he went through:
“Mustafa came here at 17 as an extremely handsome, innocent, pure, sweet-looking young adolescent who wanted to get better. Putting Mustafa's illness aside, as a team, we loved his character, determination, and enthusiasm. We diagnosed the disease we call aplastic anemia. His bone marrow was unable to produce blood cells; we faced a severe situation. We quickly started standard treatments for aplastic anemia from the immunotherapy and chemotherapy group. Simultaneously with all this, we began searching for a donor for bone marrow donation. The most suitable donor we could find for Mustafa was his elder brother, who was 60-70% compatible. There was no suitable donor in the initial bank either. We were able to bring Mustafa to a certain point with treatments we call chemoimmunotherapy. However, after some time, with the manifestation of a diseased leukemia clone that sometimes occurs in bone marrow diseases, we were faced with the picture of acute leukemia. This time, the situation we encountered was very serious and life-threatening. First, we tried to eliminate the leukemia cell mass with intensive chemotherapy. We were successful in this and, despite not being 100% compatible, we managed to perform a bone marrow transplant from the donor. Despite minor issues, when Mustafa's keen insight and determination to stay healthy combined with our efforts, we are extremely happy with the point we have reached.”