POLOKWANE – “Do me a favour, please go pray because you will die.”
These were the words of an ear, nose and throat (ENT) specialist to Thandi Hlabangwane. Bendor resident and Unicorn Riders MCC Limpopo club member Hlabangwane is living proof that one can survive bone marrow cancer and she said biking keeps her happy and is a form of therapy for her.
Before Hlabangwane was diagnosed with cancer, she explained she struggled with severe headaches for three years and had no idea what was happening. Bone marrow cancer exists when cells in the marrow begin to grow abnormally or at an accelerated rate.
“My tonsils hurt on a regular basis, but one day the pain was worse than ever before and I was referred to see the ENT,” she said and added they performed a full blood count test before the doctor called to discuss her results.
“He approached other surgeons for a second opinion and they all suspected I had internal bleeding. The doctor told me to ‘pray for wisdom’ that the next doctor who touches me can diagnose me. I immediately called my family to pray for me,” she said.
A month later Hlabangwane was admitted at Netcare Garden City in July 2012. “I was finally diagnosed with bone marrow cancer and I needed a donor for a bone marrow transplant. There was no guarantee that a transplant would heal me and the doctors said it was a 50/50 chance. My four brothers went for tests to see if any of them would be able to donate their bone marrow and the results showed that my brother, Wisdom, was a match. I instantly remembered that the ENT told me to ‘pray for wisdom’.”
Her brother agreed to perform a bone marrow transplant, and Hlabangwane was admitted to Pretoria East Netcare Hospital and a transplant was done in December 2012.
“This was when my life journey to recovery started. It was a horrible experience, but I survived,” she said. She is proud to say that, by the grace of God, she will be in her 10th year of remission this month, which is also the month in which she celebrates her birthday.
Hlabangwane is proud to be cancer survivor and said she will always ride her bike for cancer awareness. “My wish is to be an organ donor and cancer awareness ambassador one day. I want to remind all the cancer patients that cancer is not a death sentence. There’s life after cancer.”
