Young Fourways resident set to receive treatment to fight cancer
Funds are being raised for a cell therapy for nine-year-old Zoey Da Silva to aid in her battle against cancer.
A young resident is trying to keep her spirits up after being admitted to the hospital for leukaemia once again.
Zoey Da Silva (9) has been in Donald Gordon Hospital where she makes the most of her days in the care of compassionate nurses and doctors. She’s been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia.
There is a treatment for Zoey that the family is looking into, but it comes at a cost.
Zoey’s mother, Melissa Da Silva said her daughter was six turning seven when she was first diagnosed. “It was December 2020 when she was first diagnosed. When she fell ill in the beginning, we were referred to Donald Gordon Hospital and that’s where we’ve been ever since. They have an amazing team of doctors,” she said.
“She had done her initial chemo through them as well as her bone marrow transplant which happened in 2021.”
In the first 28 days of treatment, remission was anticipated. She became a candidate for a stem cell transplant when certain figures made her high risk. At the time before her procedure, she had been on chemotherapy for about 10 months. In October 2021, she had her bone marrow transplant. Zoey suffered minimal side effects and she was out of the hospital again six weeks later.
After her bone marrow transplant, life went back to normal for Zoey. She went back to school and played sports again. She was also nominated for a hockey award. Sadly, Zoey relapsed 14 months after her procedure.
Zoey’s cancer has returned
“We started her on a manageable range of chemo because we wanted her to still have a normal life. Since she already had chemo before and the transplant, we didn’t want to have her on the hectic chemo. Unfortunately, it didn’t do much and we had to get her back into the hospital almost immediately. She had to start chemo again,” Melissa said.
Since Zoey’s first diagnosis, the family has been raising awareness for her illness on a Facebook page called the Zoey Grace Fund, where her progress and updates are posted.
The family, which also includes step-father Ricky Vieira, father Paulo Da Silva, and step-mother Sarah Da Silva, said it was slightly easier when Zoey was younger to handle the situation.
Currently, there is a slight shift in Zoey’s morale as she is taking the situation in the best way she can. “She is very despondent. She is tired and lethargic now. She’s had a much bigger blow from the treatment compared to what she had the first time,” Sarah said.
“Even going into this, she’s occasionally been struggling. It makes a big difference in your recovery as well, but we are taking it day by day every day. Now and then we see our Zoey is back, and we make the best of those moments.”
Community comes together to raise funds for treatment
Fundraising efforts for the Zoe Grace Fund have been held in earnest. Another relapse could present more risk to her health. This has led the family to consider CAR-T-cell therapy.
According to the American Cancer Society website, Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy is a way in which T-cells, a type of white blood cell, can aid in fighting cancer. This is done by changing the cells in a lab so they can locate and destroy the cancer cells.
Often, the therapy is talked about as a type of cell-based gene therapy as it involves altering the genes inside T-cells to help them fight cancer. Unfortunately, a treatment like this comes at a cost as she will be receiving the treatment in Israel at a staggering cost of R1.8m.
Saddened by the news of the young Zoey battling leukaemia, many in the community came together to help fundraise for a treatment that could help Zoey. One event was the Get Fit for Zoey fitness event organised by the MissFit Boxing Gym in Fourways and several sponsors in the area.
This is the second time members of the community have engaged in a fundraising initiative. The family expressed their gratitude to the community for their unwavering support.
“We never imagined this kind of response from the community. There are simply just no words, just pure and utter gratitude. It’s been a daunting task to raise this kind of money. People have kind of made their own initiatives and just going with it has made our lives so much easier,” said Sarah.
While feeling gratitude for the community support, Zoey’s family is also feeling the brunt of the situation. Family and community members have been lending a hand to assist the family in any way possible.
“We’re in a permanent state of exhaustion, but you have to keep going,” said Melissa.
Zoey will be travelling to Israel for six months without her family, but they have vowed to be with her every step of the way. Sarah said Zoey’s whole support system is in the country, the thought is daunting of having her go through the treatment alone in Israel.
Zoey will be leaving for Israel later in April.
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