Ruth, Eliza's mother shared the journey that their family have experienced since Eliza's diagnosis.

‍

"My name is Ruth and this is my daughter Eliza. I run a small-scale clothing business that sells wrappers. We live near Luchenza which is about 4 hours to Blantyre."

‍

"Eliza is such a sweet child. Before her diagnosis she was going to school, she was energetic and always playing with her friends. About 6 months ago, Eliza started to become unwell. She wasn’t able to work properly. At first, I thought that maybe she had injured herself as she began to limp when she walked. She then started to lose weight and started to experience stomach pains. It was at this point that I took her to the health centre where they determined she was anaemic. They referred her to the District Hospital in Luchenza for further tests."

‍

"They found a swelling on her spine which they initially suspected was TB. They therefore started her on treatment for this however her stomach started to swell. They referred her to QECH in Blantyre [where] tests and scans were carried out that determined that Eliza has swellings on her stomach. They told me that the swellings were cancerous. The cancer was already quite advanced so Eliza had to start treatment straight away. Eliza first received treatment for 3 months and then was discharged. She is now back for another round of treatment."

‍

"It disturbs me a lot to see her receive her treatment as she becomes unwell. It pains me a lot but I know I need to be strong for my daughter."

Nurse Ellen who has been treating Eliza said “Eliza has Burkitt Lymphoma and she is receiving doxorubicin, cytarabine and vincristine as well as supportive treatment including methotrexate, leucovorin, omeprazole, ondansetron and prednisolone. She unfortunately relapsed after her initial treatment and so is back to receive further treatment. At the moment, there is a 50:50 chance that Eliza will make a full recovery.”

‍

It is hard for families to afford to pay for treatment, as the cost of treatment and living costs are high. Ruth shared that her "family at home are suffering as I have to pay for the transport costs to bring Eliza here for treatment", paying for the treatment would have added further financial burdens to the family. "My family is heavily affected as I have another child of school age that needs his mother but I have to be here with Eliza."

‍

Thankfully Eliza is now doing well. She is responding to the treatment and is able to play with her brother. She can do almost everything she could do before she got sick.

‍

"When all of this trauma is over, I want her to go back to school. I want her to grow up to be a doctor so she can help small children like herself with cancer. It pains me to be here seeing other children suffer with cancer."

‍

"There is need for more support here. Children are suffering from cancer and it is hard to see. If there are ways to provide more targeted diagnoses, this would be really helpful. It would also be helpful to have amore sustainable supply of medicines so that children, where possible, can take some of their treatments from home."

‍

"There are children here who’s conditions are getting worse. Please help us with receive more cancer medicine for this ward...For companies who have already donated, thank you for providing these medicines. The doctors are providing this treatment to those who need it in this ward."

‍