Please help Kahanu (9 years old) Fight Cancer!

Aloha nō,

My sister and her ʻohana are in need of your love and support as my nephew, Kahanu, continues to navigate through his difficult medical journey. His journey started when he was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome in San Diego, where he underwent numerous surgeries. Kahanumeaola Rabang is now 9 years old and enjoys Roblox, Pokémon cards, Legos, and spending time at the beach with his ʻohana.

On December 16, 2023, Kahanu complained about severe pain in his stomach. His mom then noticed the significantly increased size of his upper stomach and immediately rushed him to Hāna Health Center. After being medically evacuated out of Hāna to Maui Memorial Hospital, a CT scan showed many tumors on his liver and in his lungs. Due to the urgent need for further assessments and extensive treatment, Kahanu was transferred to Kapiolani Children’s Medical Center on the island of Oʻahu.

A week later, Kahanu was diagnosed with a possible rare form of stage 4 liver cancer. Due to his heart condition at birth and the aggressiveness of the cancer, doctors are uncertain if treatment will work for him. We are still waiting on genetic testing results from Texas to determine what specific type of liver cancer he has. In the meantime, doctors were forced to start Kahanu on an emergency treatment of Chemotherapy hoping to shrink the growing tumors on his liver. We will continue to update everyone on the path he will follow as his journey progresses.

During this time, his mother, Uilani Kaina, has never left his side. Medical expenses are on the rise, as is the loss of precious time away from family. This unforeseen situation has also allowed my sisterʻs ʻohana to accrue additional travel expenses in order for Kahanu's step father, Pat Kaina, and 5 siblings to spend as much time with him as possible while he's in the hospital.

We are so grateful for your support and wish Kahanu all the best as we continue to shower him with all the love we can give him as he fights this long and hard battle.