Jonathan’s story

During his painful and exhausting cancer treatment, music therapy helped Jonathan overcome his isolation and find new ways to express himself.

When Jonathan was 18 months old, he was diagnosed with neuroblasoma, a cancer of the nerve tissue. Faced with a poor prognosis, he underwent months of aggressive treatments and surgeries. 

At the age of six, he was still undergoing painful and exhausting treatments which kept him in hospital for long periods of time, often in isolation due to the high risk of infection.  

It was then that music therapy became a vitally important escape for him. His sessions with our music therapist Jose gave Jonathan the space he needed for expression and interaction at a time when his opportunities to develop his skills, communicate with others and explore the world around him were necessarily limited.  

“Bearing in mind the limitations of Jonathan’s life, music allowed him to engage in a meaningful social activity and have some sense of control at a time when he felt so little of it,” says Jose.

Music allowed him to be flexible and playful and he was able to relate to the people around him in his sessions, through the music-making. Jonathan was fully committed to the music – he knew he had an important role to play with his instruments, which perhaps gave him that sense of responsibility and ownership he so needed.

Jose, Jonathan’s music therapist

For his mum Janneth, the sessions proved similarly uplifting.

“It was such a joy to see and hear him in music therapy,” she says. “Jonathan’s got an excellent ear. He connects so deeply with music that he can be fully himself. Music brings the best energy and positivity out of him.”