Morningside mum battling cancer receives shocking news
"Getting a time limit on your life affects you in many ways, my family, my kids especially my daughter who is six years old, she always asks everyone when will mommy be okay."
GIVEN 18 months to live and battling depression and anxiety as she waited for life-saving treatment, Morningside mother of two, Geraldine Henrico, this week was at a loss for words and in a state of shock after receiving the shattering news that doctors had misdiagnosed her and she was in fact, cancer free.
Twenty-seven year old Geraldine, who made media headlines in recent weeks after sharing her heartbreaking story of how she and hundreds of other cancer patients in the province were being denied treatment due to the oncology crisis facing the KZN Department of Health, said while the news came as a relief and filled her with hope and joy, she was also filled with anger.
Geraldine was diagnosed in October last year with a rare malignant cancer called Ovarian yolk sac tumor which is known to spread quickly to the lungs and brain. She underwent emergency surgery to remove the tumor. In follow up consultations with doctors she was told her blood tests still showed elevated levels of cancer cells and that the cancer had spread. Doctors advised her that without the necessary treatment, she would not live more than 18 months.
“I am so angry at the doctors who told me I had cancer and needed chemotherapy. I am angry at what they put me, my family and friends through. I am seeking legal advice. It’s not about the money, it’s the fact that they don’t realise what they put us through or the consequences of their misdiagnosis. They need to be held to account,” an emotional Geraldine said in a telephone interview with Berea Mail.
Geraldine was returning from a trip to Richards Bay where she had been to see Professor Amo Jordaan, a globally renowned oncologist. “It was through the publicity in the media that Prof Jordaan heard about my case and thanks to financial help from my friends and family, I managed to get to Richards Bay to see him. He especially made time to see me,” she said.
Geraldine underwent further blood tests and said Professor Jordaan had also studied her medical history. “The results came back and he said I was cancer free. He said the operation I had undergone to remove the tumor had been successful and surgeons had managed to get it all out. There were no lesions and the cancer had not spread. He said I had been misinformed.”
“I didn’t know what to say. I felt an immediate sense of relief. The death sentence I have been living with for the past 10 months has been lifted, I can look forward to the future with my husband and two children,” she said.
“I don’t know how they got it so wrong. It wasn’t just one doctor, but a few of the doctors I saw after my surgery who told me that my tests showed elevated signs of cancer cells. They said I needed chemotherapy. I am at a loss for words, I can’t explain it.”
Driven to desperation and knowing that if she did not receive treatment she would die, Geraldine said she had become depressed and had to receive treatment for anxiety, panic attacks and had been diagnosed with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. “I won’t lie, it was really bad, I even had thoughts of suicide,” she said.
“I feel like such an idiot. My story is all over the media. People have been so generous and have donated money to my Geraldine’s Fight campaign we started to raise funds so that I could start chemotherapy immediately. I promise, I am making it my life mission to return every cent to those people, some of them I don’t even know, but I am determined to return all the money we have raised,” she said.
While she has been given a new lease on life, Geraldine says her concerns are still with the hundreds of other patients who desperately need treatment and are not receiving any.
“I was at the Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital last week and was sent away because there were no oncologists. While I was there, I witnessed small children who are not getting the help that they need, and that has still not left my mind. It affected me. These tiny kids are helpless and it breaks my heart that they cannot get the help they need. Our provincial MEC of Health, Dr S Dhlomo just passes the buck. I am ashamed that he is our MEC. It’s sad that this is the situation that KZN is facing,” she said.
“I’m not going to just let this matter go. The department and doctors need to be held accountable. How many other people are sitting out there thinking they are dying, or getting treatment for something they don’t even have? It’s just not right,” she said.
