Teen Cancer Patient in Story Dies

A young cancer patient, featured Sunday in a Times story on efforts to put computers into the hands of chronically ill children, died late Monday, less than a week from her 15th birthday.

Dulce Magana died at her Port Hueneme home surrounded by family and friends, ending a three-year battle with bone cancer, medical officials said.

Confined to hospital beds and treatment rooms much of that time, Dulce explored the Internet to escape the loneliness and anxiety brought on by her illness.

She was the first recipient of a computer provided by the Dan’s Room project, a fledgling campaign to use computers to ease the suffering of Ventura County youngsters plagued by chronic illness and cut off from the outside world.

“She was kind and she was caring and she was strong and she was brave,” said pediatric nurse Tracy Lyou, one of many health-care workers who befriended Dulce over the years. “She will be remembered for all of those things. She was determined to finish the article so that maybe she could help another child get a computer.”

Sunday’s story focused on local efforts to tap into a nationwide trend to employ computer technology to break the isolation that comes with prolonged medical treatment and extended hospital stays.

The Dan’s Room project was launched by Ojai residents Steve and Cathie Knapp in memory of their 16-year-old son, who died earlier this year from cystic fibrosis.

Tapping a loose-knit group of fund-raisers and contributors, the Knapps hope to build a network of more than a dozen computers for the pediatric ward at Ventura County Medical Center and its children’s chemotherapy lab across the street.

A few of those computers, such as the one on loan to Dulce, will be rotated to critically ill children confined to their homes.

All of the computers will be loaded with a software program that will allow youngsters to chat with each other, play interactive games and access the Internet.

Two computers already have been purchased for the program, and the Ojai Valley Woman’s Club has raised about half the money needed to buy a third.

Dulce proved to be an ideal ambassador for the program, her doctors and nurses said, as a good number of donations came in this week after the story appeared chronicling her love of computers.

“Dulce helped speed everything up, she gave us good motivation to push this forward,” said Dr. Chris Landon, the Ventura pediatrician who oversaw Dulce’s care and who has joined the Knapps in spearheading Dan’s Room.

“She just needed to reach out electronically, not just to talk to sick kids but to let the rest of the world bask in her warmth,” Landon said. “But she’s just at the head of the line. There are plenty of other kids behind her.”

Memorial donations may be made to the Dan’s Room project through the Landon Pediatric Foundation by calling 289-3338 or by e-mailing Steve and Cathie Knapp at mendak01@sprynet.com.