By Anna Tullgren | Individual Giving & Events Manager
Putting yourself in the shoes of a mother in Bangladesh is hard to imagine, but to put yourself in the position of Seema is even harder. Seema’s son was diagnosed with cancer when he developed a lump in his stomach.
“Saif was such a happy child, always playing and laughing but when he became unwell it was clear this was no normal illness. He first started to vomit and later we noticed a lump in his stomach. We immediately went to see our local doctor but things were not so simple.”
There is a huge shortage of trained healthcare workers in Bangladesh with even fewer able to care for children with cancer. When Seema took her son to their local healthcare centre the team operated to remove the lump in Saif’s stomach, but the operation was unsuccessful. Seema was paying for treatment that was not helping her child and eventually went elsewhere for help, visiting a further two hospitals before finally being referred to BSMMU.
“It was heart-breaking to be told Saif had a tumour, to hear that your child has cancer was devastating and I immediately began to fear the worst. I have managed to control my emotions more since I was first told, I know I have to be strong for my son – crying will not help and I am determined to be there for Saif.”
Despite living just 30km from BSMMU Seema and Saif had to take a boat and two buses to reach the hospital.
“We took a taxi the first time as Saif was too sick to travel but we can no longer afford such luxuries, we now have to take the boat and bus to reach hospital. I am a housewife and my husband does not earn much, so we have to save enough money to support our family as well as Saif’s treatment.”
All children have dreams and aspirations of what they want to be when they grow up. Saif is just two years old but his mother hopes he can grow up to complete his education and fulfil his own ambitions. She prays each morning and night for her son and says her faith has helped to stabilise her mind when she was fearing the worst for Saif.
Saif is one of over 400,000 children that will develop cancer this year and most of them will live in developing countries where as few as one in ten survive compared to over eight in ten in developed countries.
Saif’s route to effective treatment was delayed when local healthcare workers could not provide the care he so desperately needed. By training more healthcare professionals, supporting families through treatment and raising awareness of childhood cancer, we can give more children the opportunity to grow into their futures.
With thanks to your generous support, we are able support children like Saif.
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