Candice Weber

In 1995 at the age of 4 I knew I wanted to be an actress. I would sing and dance through the hallways of our house in Witbank and I probably drove my parents crazy. In May 1995 my sister, Nicole, was born and I was delighted to have a bubbly new friend. I slowly started getting ill that year with terrible stomach pain and my parents took me to every local doctor only to come home with no true cause of the problem. On my fifth birthday in October that year I was still too ill to play with my friends and celebrate with my family and at that point, my aunt recommended that I should go to a paediatrician in Johannesburg. Blood tests and sonars were done and my parents received a call that soon changed their life.

I had a tumour the size of 12cm x 4cm growing out of my right adrenal gland and was diagnosed by Professor Richard Cohn with stage 3 Neuroblastoma. My parents were shocked. They just found out that their eldest had a life threatening disease with only a 10% chance of survival and had a 6 month old baby to take care of too.

I remember a long time of having no hair, feeling very weak and being tired of having to take “another” needle, “another” drip, “another” round of a word called “chemo” and watching “Lion King” for the millionth time but looking back, I don’t remember the pain or the hurt at all. That is one of the biggest blessings for me and something I admire about children. To me I was just feeling quite sick for a very long time, but it never once crossed my mind that I was actually busy dying. I now understand the saying: ‘have faith like a child’.

Ward 294 at the (then) Johannesburg General Hospital became our home for the next two years. The doctors and staff members were remarkable to say the least. I remember the loving presence of Sister Sadie, Dr. Bernard, Dr. Rosie and the exceptional nursing staff working around the clock to help us get through this. My treatment started with extensive chemo therapy for 3 months to reduce the tumour at 3 week intervals. During this time my family and I stayed in different hospitals for 3 nights to get treated then went back home for 21 days. During this time, I also received a lumber puncture to determine if the tumour had infiltrated my bone marrow but by the grace of God, it did not.

After the tumour had shrunk to a more manageable size, the Paediatric Oncology Physician Specialist, Prof Peter Beale successfully removed the tumour after hours of surgery. He had said to my father that it was a miracle that I made it and I had lost so much blood that an emergency helicopter had to bring blood to the hospital for me. I remember waking up from this operation feeling incredibly weak but being surrounded by love when my eyes opened. My parents were so hopeful and thought that my battle was over, but it wasn’t. After my operation, Professor Cohn decided that the next best step would be a bone-marrow transplant. My bone-marrow was extracted and sent through to Cape Town to be used again after my next treatments were finished. For an entire week I was without  bone marrow and received aggressive chemo therapy in the hope of killing off any remaining cancer cells. I don’t remember much from this time other than feeling very cold and not being able to stomach food.

After my bone-marrow was re-introduced, I stayed in isolation in the hospital for 8 weeks. This was the darkest time. I remember playing with ‘My Little Pony’ dolls with a girl next door who’s complexion was a light purple and whose beautiful full lips were dried and cracked. Soon after I went back to my room to eat something my mom had made, I remember trying to take a bite out of a soft cold mielie (corn on the cob) and saw blood everywhere because my teeth and gums had become so weak. Straight after this, I heard a scream from next door that I somehow knew was a mother’s cry. My friend next door had just passed away. This was not the only brave mother who lost her child. I was the only one in that time of isolation to have survived.

Once my blood counts and platelets were acceptable, my parents took me home and I isolated for a few more months. l continued going for regular blood tests and check ups for years to come and by the grace of God, through the incredible specialists, the relentless love from my family, the staff, CHOC, Reach for a Dream and above all prayers, I made it and am 24 years clean. I am an actress and I truly believe that if you are alive, you still have a purpose.

I can’t imagine how hard it must have been for my parents and loved ones, but I never once felt unsafe or unloved and it’s because of this that I want to help encourage any child or parent going through the same that they are not alone.

Zanele

To Zanele, hope means smiling even in the worst, worst pain.

Let me take you on my cancer journey

Pains and swelling 

In 1998 I was diagnosed with Germ Tumor Cell a form of cancer in the ovaries, this diagnosis came as a shock to my family because I was at a tender age of 12 years, now how can a 12-year-old be diagnosed with such a disease which most of the time such cancers are diagnosed in adult women who have given birth and here I am and haven’t started my period!

Ooops you are pregnant

It all began with some sharp pain and swelling on my right side just below my belly button, the swelling appeared as if I had an appendix, after taking many painkillers and some home remedies with no success finally it was time to visit the clinic, by then the pain and the swelling was getting worse. After some check-ups and tests the nurse said that I had been naughty and playing with boys cause my check-up showed ”balloon stomach ”and the urine test revealed that I was ‘pregnant’, ooh my mama got into a Mama Panther mode and demanded to see the doctor-manager or whoever the nurse is reporting to. 

Hospital stays

We waited for the doctor and after he examined me he apologised to my mother, and immediately referred us to Sebokeng hospital for further tests, I was admitted on our arrival and stayed there for 2 weeks, during the hospital my mother said that the doctors haven’t told her what is wrong with me, therefore, she is going to ask them to discharge me. When we got home my mother’s employer contacted her private doctor at Mediclinic Vereeniging and in 2 days I was in his examination room and referred to Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, where I was admitted and diagnosed with a germ cell tumour within 2weeks. I had my surgery in December 1998, then January 1999 I was moved to the Pediatric Oncology Unit where I was so scared when I saw all the other sick kids, most of them had no hair on their heads, they looked thin, with somehow skin colour and all the machines that were beeping in this new ward. 

Chemo, chemo and lots of chemo 

My own journey of hair loss and somehow skin colour started by the end of January of the same year. I had 9 rounds of chemotherapy with many others to follow, I had 9 rounds of chemotherapy (9 months) with 4 surgeries in between. The treatment was tough, I remember the chemo side effects just like this morning’s breakfast, vomiting till I would feel like I am going to pass out, half of my beautiful long brown-black hair on my pillow and hat, and developing skin discoloration, mine looked like I was a purple Smurf. 

CHOC made our hospital stays easier and much more fun, we would be treated to camps, lunch outings, birthday parties, presents, celebrities and cartoon figures. These were indeed fun times when one would feel normal and healthy, you could bet that we were not sick after each outing, the chats and the laughter when we got back to our ward where our family back home felt at ease too. I would get a weekend pass out from Thursday to Monday and then back to the hospital again, it was not easy as I was always sick and would come back before the end of the pass out. And yeah, the passing of other kids was the painful thing again, as much as the doctors and the hospital staff tried to be discreet about the news we would somehow find out and this would turn our stomachs upside down. And there are 2 deaths that are just locked in my memory, but that is a story for another time. 

Real-world and recovery

I was declared cancer-free and discharged from the hospital in November 1999. My family was over the moon including myself, now I could not wait to get back to school the following year. January 2000, I went back to school, this was another journey that I was unprepared for, my hair was more like a newborn baby hair, still thin, and with skin discoloration. The worst of it was when my parents and teachers realised that I lost my hearing ability in my right ear, my sense of touch was not like others. This was now another fight on its own. Before I could get a hearing aid I learned how to lip read and had to learn to write and hold objects tightly or until I could feel them piercing through my hand. I had to these are some of the chemotherapy’s lifelong side effects.  

Life was hard as most of the kids were scared to be around me, sometimes nasty kids would make fun of me, but I was under strict watch from my teachers who made sure that I was not bullied at school, and I took my daily medication. In 2003 I went back to the hospital because I had gallbladder stones… My family and I were scared that the cancer was back!! They were removed, and I went back to school after and continued to soldier on. It was fun and scary to be in the real world. Though I managed to pass primary last year and went to high school and completed my matric in 2005 I had to study 10 times harder than other kids because I had something called chemo brain where one forgets easily. 

It took me years to stop worrying about relapsing and much effort to live my life freely and enjoy every given moment 

Today I am a qualified Social Auxiliary Worker and hold an End-user computing certificate. I worked in an organisation as a Social Auxiliary worked in the Men and Boys victim empowerment programme for 4years. 

Hello, My name is Zanele Mohlongo and I am a cancer survivor. This year I am celebrating 24 years of remission. 

Zhakier Adams

Zhakier Survivor Story CHOC

Zhakier Adams

I Survived!

My name is Zhakier Adams. I am 21 years old, and a childhood cancer survivor from Manenberg, Cape Town. I was diagnosed with leukaemia at the age of 13.

I remember 2010 just after the World Cup. I attended a holiday programme that was held in the community, and when the school holidays were over I went back to school, and I had no pain during the school holidays.

At the time I was in primary school and I attended the Primrose Park Primary School. The school had a garden and each class had to work in the garden to plant seeds and water the garden.

I was in the school garden when I first lost balance and couldn’t walk or stand. I didn’t pay much attention. But this occurred continuously for a few days. Then it eventually got to the point where I couldn’t stand or walk at all.

At the same time, my mother fell ill as well. My parents decided that both of us should go to the nearest doctor. The doctor examined me and he picked up all the symptoms of cancer. The doctor gave a letter to Jooste Hospital for blood tests. That evening, the doctor at Jooste Hospital called my father, informing him to take me to Red Cross Hospital immediately.

I wasn’t told exactly what was wrong, but I was admitted to the hospital and while waiting for a doctor to attend to me, I passed out and woke up in the ICU. I woke up and saw my mother crying and still didn’t know what was wrong with me. But my parents knew. Thereafter, I was in and out of the hospital for months.  I went through all kinds of treatments; radiation therapy, chemotherapy, x-rays and blood transfusion for 3 long years.

It was during this time that my family and I met CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation. I did not stay at a CHOC House because I lived near to the hospital, but CHOC supported my family emotionally, we received care bags, and all the support that they offer to families and kids in the wards at Red Cross Hospital.

I struggled with my schooling, but eventually made it to go to high school. I missed out on so much school time, I failed twice, one of the reasons was, in grade 10, I experienced severe back pain and ended up back in hospital for weeks. Eventually I wrote matric in 2017. I could not write all my subjects, and I still need to write another 3 subjects to obtain my matric certificate.

During the time I was on treatment, I attended camps with other kids that also had cancer. The camp was called Just Footprints, and I am now a facilitator at the Just Footprints camp.

I have been in remission for 4 and half years now, and I am first of all very grateful to the Almighty, my parents and family, and to CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation for supporting me through my journey. I am part of the CHOC survivor/volunteer family and I jump at every opportunity to get involved to support CHOC.

Thank you for having me and sharing my journey.