Headline:
 Saving a Child from a Silent Disease: Unpad Doctors Trace Rare Cancer-Like Disorder

In Bandung, a 17-month-old girl was fighting for her life. Breathing difficulties, fever, swollen belly, and painful rashes puzzled doctors until a team at Universitas Padjadjaran stepped in. Led by Dr. Harry Galuh Nugraha and colleagues from radiology, pediatrics, and pathology, the team unraveled the mystery: multisystem Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH), a rare disease that mimics cancer.

Through a series of radiological tests—X-rays, CT scans, MRI—the doctors discovered the disease had spread to the child’s bones, lungs, liver, and spleen. Without these imaging breakthroughs, she would have been misdiagnosed, as had happened before with tuberculosis.

While the prognosis is poor for such widespread cases, early detection is the best chance for survival. The case highlights the urgent need for awareness among parents and health workers: persistent fevers, rashes, and growth failure in children should never be ignored.

For families, this story is both a warning and a message of hope. Imaging, when available and accurately interpreted, can be the difference between life and death.

Unpad’s work demonstrates a commitment to SDG 3 (Health) and SDG 10 (Reduced Inequalities) by ensuring even rare diseases in low-resource settings are given global attention.