Early detection of cancer can be a life saver

By Nomagugu Konke

Early detection is crucial for cancer in children; identifying signs can lead to early detection and successful management of child cancer.

According to the World Health Organization, more than 1000 children globally are diagnosed with cancer every day.

Kholiwe Sibanda’s son Joseph Sibanda [not their actual names] was diagnosed with cancer when he was in grade 1 in 2017 then the treatment began in 2018.

It took a year for the parents to realize that it was cancer since it was a tumor that was attached to the breathing pipe.

“My son was failing to sleep, at first it was not painful but he was snoring a lot.  We went to the doctor and we were then referred to the otolaryngologist and they said there was a tumor and I did not know all about that.

I did not understand what they were talking about, I was an accountant by profession and the medical terms confused me,” She said.

Joseph was diagnosed with lymphoma, one of the most common cancers in children.

“I failed to sleep at night holding him on my lap because he would breathe like he was being choked. He did not have headaches or any pain but in the afternoon he would sleep a lot.

“He was losing appetite and weight,” said Sibanda.

In an African society, it is believed that if one falls ill, it is related to spiritual forces.

“I faced challenges with my family when we heard from the doctors that our son was diagnosed with cancer, for us to go for treatment it was a challenge because they thought it was some kind of spell casting or witchcraft.

“So they were advising me to take traditional medicines and some even said I should go to traditional healers of which I did not want to do all those things.

“I also had a challenge at work, I had to leave my Job, I didn’t want but they had to force me to leave my job because my son was now very sick.

“After I was told that my child had cancer, I lost focus while I was driving then I got hit by a haulage truck, I lost my car but thanks to God I survived,” she said.

She then got support from different support groups and individuals to assist her son with treatment.

“I got a huge support from my prayer partners who prayed with me. Even though I was told that it was cancer, it did not make sense to me that a child could get cancer.

“We went for different tests I lost so much money but my prayer partners assisted

“I am grateful to Dr Magwenzi who encouraged me to go to Parirenyatwa Hospital.

“I did not know about Kidzcan, I got to know it at the hospital when we were not able to buy medicines my child was supposed to get treatment after every two weeks. They helped with buying the medications because it was too expensive for us to afford it,” she said.

The doctors had said the treatment would take two years eventually after the two years had lapsed; they tested Joseph and discovered that he was developing other tumors on the cancerous lymph nodes.

“They did an operation on him, they had done the chemotherapy on him unfortunately it had not finished so he had to go for radiation which we had to for every two weeks until he was completely healed.

“He started getting treatment while he was in grade and finished when he was in grade five. Now he is completely healthy, he is now doing grade seven,” she said.

The mother of a two-year-old Linda narrated how her daughter also got early diagnosed and treated for cancer.

“My child started having nosebleeds, sores, and seizures. I went to the apostolic sects trying to find out what had hit my child but I got no answers.

“I went to different hospitals trying to find out what was affecting my child, I then went to a clinic called Chimhanda, and my child was diagnosed with blood cancer also known as leukemia.

“I was then referred to Parirenyatwa Hospital. I then noticed some changes when they started treating her.

“Now my child can eat and play with other children, she is still receiving her treatment.” She said.

The most common types of cancers in children include leukemia, lymphomas, brain cancer, and other central nervous system tumors.