A re-energised Byron Ball, 26, started Byron’s Brain Campaign on crowdfunding website Indiegogo to pay for follow-up appointments after undergoing treatment in India.
According to his mother Maggie Bailie, Byron’s health was regressing before with local radiation treatments prior to his trip to undergo CyberKnife stereoactic cancer treatment at Health Care Global (HCG) in Bangalore in June. Byron has to return to HCG in October to have more scans done and understand the next medical step. While his brain is swollen, it is impossible to see exactly how the treatments have affected the tumour lodged in the pineal region of his brain (a pineal germinoma). He is completing a cycle of steroid treatments to help get the swelling down.
He had no further treatment options in South African state hospitals but became a candidate for CyberKnife treatments through communications with Sue Rice, wife to former South African international cricketer Clive Rice who underwent the treatment earlier this year. Clive unfortunately passed away in Cape Town on 28 July, days before meeting up with Byron.
“I had never met him but had spoken to him over the phone a couple of times; we had agreed to meet once I am back in South Africa but he never returned from his trip to Cape Town,” Byron told the Record.
He was preparing for a visit with his grandmother when the Record interviewed the strong-willed duo. Although they describe their two weeks abroad as a massive culture shock, the pair spoke of a good experience there, pleasant interactions with staff and Byron’s improving condition.
The next trip would cost the family in the region of R20 000 as it is shorter than the initial visit. In order to afford this, Byron and Maggie have embarked on a crowdfunding campaign on Indiegogo where they hope to raise $3 000 (around R38 000) to cover rolling expenses with regards to the trip, future medical trips and medication.
Life under CyberKnife:
“By the grace of God, I went just in time,” Byron told the Record; reporting puss leaking from his eyes, terrible vision and constant exhaustion prior to the trip.
Byron underwent an MRI scan at Charlotte Maxeke Academic Hospital which revealed growth in the aggressive tumour. Apparently results to HCG’s doctors diagnosed hundreds of small tumours were forming around the big tumour. It was confirmed with a further L-Dopa (Levodopa) PET (positron emmision tomography) scan in Bangalore where five liquid injections were administered to his brain to create a three-dimensional image of body functional processes.
“When I got to HCG I wasn’t feeling great, and I was nervous and panicky.
“Their staff were amazing with me, I formed a friendship with one of the assistants who helped me through every procedure and calmed me down.”
In conjunction with the CyberKnife treatments Byron had to complete a cycle of five chemo tablets. He had to wear a customised mould which was bolted down on the table to secure his head for treatment. A small “light” (a lazer) worked the back of his head every treatment while a second lazer on a mechanical arm continually moved around his face. Each treatment lasted about an hour and was administered at night to allow him sleep afterwards.
“The first thing I felt during the treatment was a warm, bubbly sensation at the back of my head. The first treatment was very uncomfortable, but after I got used to the sensation the others were a piece of cake.”
Once back in at home, he experienced better health — his left eye which had a lot of muscle damage due to pressure on the nerves and couldn’t focus is no longer squint and back in position. It surprised Maggie, who had to look twice when he woke up one morning, “because both eyes were looking at me!” He had put down his strong prescription glasses and went back to wearing his original, weak prescription glasses.
“My eyes are so strong again and I’m bouncing off the walls with energy; where I was exhausted halfway through the day before, I cannot fall asleep now.”
Support Byron’s Brain Campaign here:
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/byron-s-brain-cancer-campaign#/story
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Also read: From India – Byron recovering after brain cancer treatments
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