Joseph's update*, aged 11, Cameroon
Joseph was diagnosed with leukaemia after experiencing frequent headaches and a cough. Read his update below.
We first met Joseph* in 2019, when he was experiencing symptoms such as frequent headaches, a recurring cough, and stomach distention. After numerous different treatments and hospital visits, Joseph was diagnosed with leukaemia at Mbingo Baptist Hospital. He received intensive treatment for 7 months. Following this, Joseph underwent maintenance treatment every month for 18 months.
Since finishing treatment, Joseph is doing much better and his family is very grateful to the hospital and to World Child Cancer. His mother hopes that he will grow up to be a doctor so he can treat others like how the hospital staff treated him.
When I came to the hospital, they provided me with food support, lectures and food demonstrations on how to cook healthy meals for him, transport fares, and they paid for Joseph’s treatment. We also stayed for free at the parent home in Mbingo so he could take his treatment.
Support from yourself and our partners like the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) has significantly supported the delivery of our programme to upskill healthcare workers and improve paediatric oncology services across sub-Saharan Africa. This has led to, and will continue to lead to, health system change that will increase childhood cancer survival. Our work with key stakeholders has resulted in the training of over 1,504 healthcare workers to recognise early warning signs and symptoms of childhood cancer, promoting early diagnosis.
Through family support funds in each country, we have also assisted over 1,500 children to reach, or stay in, critical treatment. These fundamental improvements enable children like Joseph to be able to continue their treatment and go on to live fulfilling lives.
In Cameroon alone we have helped over 200 children and their families by covering treatment and diagnostic costs, providing nutritional supplements, paying for transport, and providing accommodation.
Without this support, I don’t know what could have happened – my son could have died as I couldn’t afford the money to pay for his treatment.
*Names changed to protect identities
It is thanks to the support from Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) and yourself that our achievements thus far have been possible. There are many more children like Joseph in the world who desperately need your help – donate now to make a difference.
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