Pierre, Aged 15, Cameroon
15-year-old Pierre* is receiving treatment at Mbingo Baptist Hospital in Cameroon. He comes from a family of farmers.
For Therese*, the best thing about being a parent is having her children around to keep her company. Life for the family was simple, without many luxuries, but the family supported one another.
But one day everything changed.
My son Pierre complained of continuous abdominal pain for one month with distention and weight loss and night sweats.
At first, they wondered if it could be witchcraft that brought about Pierre’s illness. He had a distended and painful abdomen and night sweats. He lost a lot of weight. A doctor local to their small village in southwestern Cameroon saw Pierre and prescribed medicine for what he diagnosed as a ‘normal fever’. The medication didn’t help.
My mother decided to carry me from my uncle’s house in Mbanga to the hospital in Mutengene where I was diagnosed with cancer. […] I was afraid I was going to die.
Pierre was diagnosed with Burkitt’s Lymphoma, a cancer of the lymphatic system. When his family first heard about his diagnosis, they felt hopeless.
Cancer meant death to us as [we thought] there is no cure.
Pierre’s diagnosis also hit the family hard financially. They had to take turns working on the farm while those who didn’t visited the hospital. Until they received the diagnosis, the family had been paying for everything out of their own pocket.
However, once the diagnosis was confirmed, the family started receiving support from World Child Cancer.
We were given treatment, nutrition and accommodation support. The hospital provided kitchen utensils, food stuff, food money and transportation from Mutengene to Mbingo Baptist Hospital.
We spoke to the family about the impact of this support, which was made possible thanks to supporters just like you.
We appreciate World Child Cancer for supporting us especially in the area of transportation and paying for medication and hospital bills. Without this support our son would have died.
Pierre is now looking forward to going back to school. His dream is to become a medical doctor who can help other children like himself get better.
*Names changed to protect identities
Hearing the news that your child has cancer is devastating. With your help, World Child Cancer is able to provide financial and emotional support to children and their families at diagnosis and beyond, to limit the damage cancer causes.
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