Early diagnosis a remedy for childhood cancer

1 000 kids diagnosed with the disease in SA annually

A teenager was devastated when she was diagnosed with throat cancer last year.

Masego Mongane, 17, from Klerksdorp in North West is one of the children being treated at the paediatric oncology ward at the Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital in Soweto.

Yesterday marked International Childhood Cancer Day, which is aimed at raising awareness around childhood cancer.

According to Childhood Cancer International (CCI), cancer continues to be the leading cause of non-communicablerelated deaths among children, with about 1 000 children diagnosed in South Africa and about 300 000 globally.

When Sowetan visited the ward yesterday, Masego was sitting on a sofa wrapped in a blanket. “It took a long time for me to accept that I have cancer. It was hard, but my mother and the doctors at the hospital gave me courage,” she said.

A drip, which is used to administer the chemotherapy treatment, was connected to her chest. “I used to hear people say that if you have cancer you die. That really scared me,” she said.

Masego, who together with her mother and other families like them, now lives in one of the houses set up by the Choc Childhood Cancer Foundation in Diepkloof, Soweto, said she missed school.

“When I get better I want to go back and finish Grade 12. I want to become a doctor so that I can also help people,” she said.

Her mother Angelin Mongane, 47, said she noticed that her daughter was not well last year. “She was always tired and her appetite was poor, which caused her to lose a lot of weight,” Mongane said.

She said doctors conducted blood tests on Masego when she developed a small growth on the neck. The tests confirmed the teen had cancer. “I never imagined that my child would have cancer. The news affected me badly. I was very hurt.”

She said Masego was, however, responding well to chemotherapy. “The most important thing is that we show them [patients] love and support. It’s also important for parents to be vigilant and to take their children to clinic if they suspect that something is wrong,” Mongane said.

Bonolo Thupe, 26, from Vryburg, also in the North West, said she was shocked when her daughter Omontle, who is one year and eight-months old, was diagnosed with leukaemia in December.

The toddler was suffering from severe fever and couldn’t walk. Thupe said at first doctors suspected that Omontle had low blood pressure, but tests revealed that she had cancer. “I was so shocked I couldn’t stop crying,” Thupe said.

She said Omontle was responding well to treatment and had started walking again. Thupe said doctors told her that they were able to contain the cancer and keep it from spreading as it was discovered early.

Choc spokeswoman Zelda Jacobs said children’s lives could be saved through early diagnoses. “In developed countries, childhood cancer has become largely curable, with the overall survival rate reaching between 70% and 80%, whereas in SA the rate is approximately 55%, partly due to lack of knowledge about the disease. Choc aims to improve this rate by creating awareness of childhood cancer symptoms.”