The condition of recently released long-time refusenik Leah Maryasin is much better than doctors here first believed. Physicians at Toronto General Hospital originally feared that Maryasin, 61, was suffering from multiple myeloma upon being admitted last week. However, Dr. Michael Baker, head of the hospital’s cancer treatment and research program, said that original diagnosis has been changed.
Baker told The Canadian Jews News that Maryasin is suffering from skin plasmacytomas, a much more common variant of the disease. She can be treated with oral medication, and is expected to enjoy several years of good health, he said. Baker added that Maryasin, who could not walk when she came to the hospital because of a blood clot in her leg, is responding to treatment and is now beginning to take a few steps.
Maryasin’s brother-in-law, Eugene Katz, said the family expected her to be released from the hospital this week. Her husband, Alexander, 62, and daughter, Faina, are beginning to adjust to their new life here, though the process would take time, Katz said. After 15 years of refusal, the Maryasins were finally allowed to leave the Soviet Union and arrived in Montreal two weeks ago. Last week, the family was reunited with relatives in Toronto, Eugene Katz and his wife Mara who fought for their release.
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The Archive of the Jewish Telegraphic Agency includes articles published from 1923 to 2008. Archive stories reflect the journalistic standards and practices of the time they were published.
