Cancer survivor wins R17.5 million Lotto jackpot

A North West man has joined the list of millionaires after winning the Lotto jackpot of R17 527 655.10. After a string of bad luck, the Lotto winner has finally seen lady luck smile his way.

Last year February the winner was diagnosed with prostate cancer and subsequent to that his life and family’s started to unravel. “After finding out I was diagnosed with aggressive prostate cancer I felt like my life was coming to an end. I started cancer treatment and all I could do was hope for the best,” said the winner.

As the winner was busy coming to terms with the cancer ordeal, bad-luck struck again on the 18^th of May this year when he was driving to work. “My work requires me to travel a lot and on this day I was on the road and suddenly my left eye was blurry and I was struggling to see the road. I consulted a doctor and he scheduled an emergency operation. Unfortunately, the operation was not a success and I lost all vision in my left eye,” explained the teary winner.

After the operation, the winner couldn’t resume work and this affected his income, and in June he received his last cheque from the company as his sick leave days had been depleted. “We were already struggling to make ends meet as I was not earning a full salary since being at home. It was really tough without a stable income and being the main breadwinner I thought we were going to be destitute.”

After all this misfortune, on the 26^th of July 2017, the winner’s life was never to be the same again. On that day he won R17.5 million from the Lotto draw. This avid player says he always had a hunch that someday he will bag the Lotto millions.

Winning the Lotto wasn’t the first bit of good news, he also recently found out after a recent visit to the doctor that he has been cleared of cancer. “You can imagine my shock when the doctor said my blood count shows that there is no trace of cancer. I feel like I have been giving a new lease on life,” said the winner.

The player spent R45.00 on his winning ticket and says the first person he shared the news with was his wife. “After visiting my local store and seeing I had a winning ticket I immediately drove back home and shared the news with my wife. She was in the kitchen when I told her the news we both started crying as we couldn’t believe it,” said the winner.

The LOTTO winnings have also allowed him to have another eye operation that will help restore his sight. He also plans to enjoy his retirement; invest some of the windfall, share the money with his children, and buy his grandson a car he promised him.

Ithuba also provided the winner with financial advice and counselling to ensure that the winner has all the knowledge, resources and advice on how to cope with his new wealth.