Facing the fear of death… An 11-year-old cancer patient tells her story

Nov 01, 2015 News

By Romila Boodram
It is no secret that being inflicted with cancer could result in a long and hard battle, and leave an indelible impression on the patient and everyone close to that person.

A nurse at the GPHC’s Oncology department attending to Shelly

For many it is the worst possible news- knowing that you could die at anytime.
Telling an adult, he or she has been diagnosed with cancer, is like “a judge giving someone the death sentence.”
According to one medical practitioner at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC), by only saying, “Sir or Madam, you have ca…!” can cause some patients to faint.
With this in mind, imagine having to explain to young children, who may not have even heard of cancer before, that they have the dreaded disease.
But at age 11, when many would have been starting a new chapter in their life, Shelly Debyden’s life fell apart.
The Port Kaituma, Region One resident was diagnosed with ovarian cancer and it was at stage-two heading to stage three.
This type of cancer begins in the ovaries. Women have two ovaries, one on each side of the uterus in the pelvis.
The ovaries produce eggs. They are also the main source of a woman’s female hormones, estrogen and progesterone. The eggs travel through the fallopian tubes to the uterus. Here they may be fertilized by and developed into a fetus after sexual intercourse.
Four months ago, little Shelly underwent surgery at GPHC to remove one of her ovaries. At present she is taking chemotherapy.
“The doctors said that they take out one of the ovaries and they are trying to save the uterus so when she is ready to conceive, she won’t have any difficulties,” the child’s grandmother, Celestine DeFreitas explained.
As of early last year, Shelly was a normal child. She would do chores to help her mother and four siblings. She attended the Port Kaituma Primary School and had many friends who she would talk and joke with.
When she was at home, she was mischievous and troublesome. In her spare time, she played games with her siblings and friends in the neighbourhood. But in August 2014, her life took an unexpected turn.

The little girl’s grandmother, Celestine DeFreitas

She went home one day and complained of experiencing severe abdominal pain but her mother thought that it was because she was “jumping around” with her friends earlier in the day.
After the pain continued, Shelly was taken to the Port Kaituma Hospital. However, because the hospital is not equipped with the relevant medical personnel and equipment to do proper diagnoses, she was given regular panadol to ease the pain.
A few weeks later when the pills finished, little Shelly was again rushed to the hospital.
There she met with another medical officer, who after examining her notified her mother that Shelly has a lump in her abdomen.
She was later rushed to the GPHC where she did an ultrasound and several other tests. It was later confirmed that little Shelly was battling with stage two ovarian cancer. The cancer was heading to stage three.
For most people with cancer, their life changes dramatically. Going through tests, doctor’s appointments and treatment will become part of their daily life- this has also become part of Shelly’s daily life.
During an interview at the hospital Friday, the brave 11-year-old told this newspaper, “I am doing really well right now. I feel better than before.”
Her grandmother, with a smile on her face, said Shelly dealt with her sickness like a mature person.
“She tells people how she feels and she tells them about her experience. She is not someone who is scared and who would be crying all the time. There is always a smile on her face. You could never tell that she has cancer,” her maternal grandmother said.
She recalled that in August 2014, her daughter (Shelly’s mother) called from Port Kaituma and informed her that Shelly was being transferred to GPHC.
“I asked her (Shelly’s mother) what happened but she said that she doesn’t know. When Shelly reached here (GPHC) and I went to the hospital, after all the tests were done, the doctor told me that she has cancer,” the grandmother recalled.
She added that the doctor then asked her permission to have Shelly undergo immediate surgery to remove the infected ovary before the cancer cell spreads.
“She (Shelly) didn’t know what was going on until the doctor come and tell me that he don’t think Shelly knows what is going on and I ask him if he could tell her and he said that he would,” DeFreitas recalled.
According to Shelly, when she was informed that she has cancer, she had no idea what cancer was at the time.
“When they first did the ultra-sound, they said it was a mass but like I didn’t know what it was and then mom (her grandmother) asked the doctor what he means and then he said it was cancer,” Shelly disclosed.
The little girl bravely said that she refused to think of her illness as a sickness but instead she lives every day like any other person.
Asked what she would like to tell the public, Shelly said, “Parents should pay more attention to their children. If they say somewhere is hurting them, as parents, you should take them to the doctor and don’t blame it on their playfulness.”
A report from the Ministry of Public Health shows that cancer has been the third leading cause of mortality in Guyana.
Prostate, breast, lung and cervical cancers are the main categories affecting the Guyanese population.
The report also shows that during the period 2004-2012 over 3,400 persons died from various forms of cancer, with the largest number of deaths being 621 in 2011.
According to cancer experts, many people believe that getting cancer is related to genes, fate or bad luck. But through scientific research, it was discovered that the risk actually depends on a combination of genes, the environment and other aspects of our daily lives, many of which can be control.
Cancer is caused by damage to our DNA, the chemical instructions that tell our cells what to do. Things in our environment, such as UV rays, or our lifestyle, such as the cancer-causing chemicals in tobacco, can damage our DNA.
This damage builds up over time. If a cell develops too much damage to its DNA, it can start to multiply and become out of control – this is how cancer starts.
By simply keeping a healthy bodyweight, not smoking, cutting back on alcohol, enjoying the sun safely and keeping active can decrease your chances of having cancer.