Byron’s big C could be treated in India
“I can’t stay awake for more than half a day, with naps in between,” he said.
It took special effort for Byron Ball, 26, to stay awake long enough to tell the story of the brain cancer he has been battling for three years.
The tumour lodged in the pineal region of his brain (a pineal germinoma) tuckers him out fast, he said. It also makes him “cry like a little girl”. In public hospitals in South Africa doctors have exhausted every possible avenue of treatment for his cancer, but new hope has arisen for the young sufferer who might receive state-of-the-art treatment in India, should he and mother Maggie Bailie be able to raise the funds.
It seems like good karma walked through the door when the Record did on the day of the interview. Mid-way through their telling of the possibility of the operation and how they’ve applied so that Byron may be considered a patient, Maggie received an important phone call. Dr. Kathan of HealthCare Global in Bangalore, India, informed her that her son is a candidate for the operation.
The tears didn’t stop flowing as she embraced her already-tired son, who also became very emotional.
The pair learned of the treatment through their contact with Sue Rice, wife to Clive Rice, 65, a former South African international cricketer. Clive underwent treatment at HCG where they used a CyberKnife machine to bombard the cancerous growth with radiotherapy from all angles to destroy it. The machine is a world-first that combines real-time image guidance throughout the treatment. According to Sue’s writing to Maggie, conventional radiation therapy or radiotherapy administers a broad beam of radiation from one or two directions in at least 30 treatments, while CyberKnife steroactic radio surgery delivers high-dose beams of radiation anywhere in the body and treatment can be completed, typically, within three to five days.
Need to raise funds
Byron’s histology having proven him a candidate for the treatment, he and Maggie now face the harsh reality of raising R150 000 to make the trip.
Byron, who was initially diagnosed when he was 23, had enjoyed minor success working as an electrical engineer in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, which he described as his break in life. He was initially treated for headaches while abroad but upon his return to South Africa, went from pillar to post trying to understand his symptoms. After the dispiriting diagnosis and radiation therapy that left a lot of scar tissue, after doctors telling him “the tumour is dead”, he started working again in May 2014 as a driver and maintenance man for his brother-in-law.
“From what I’ve learned in assisting my son through this, the radiation Byron has had actually burnt the top brain cells. A burn scar basically formed on top of the brain and it is irreversible,” Maggie told the Record.
The scar tissue makes scans of his brain near-impossible. The tumour is inoperable and currently presses down on his pituitary gland which has been causing him extreme headaches, temporary memory loss and fatigue and makes him very emotional. His eyesight has weakened dramatically since the initial diagnosis and he wears +7 prescription glasses. His motor skills are also harshly affected.
His difficulty inspired him to do good
Before travelling to the Congo, Byron had a fairly difficult home life between split-up parents and a terrible accident in which he was involved that claimed the life of his best friend while in high school. His ensuing depression had him turn to the street drug cat. He became suicidal.
“However, despite all he has been through and is going through, he is inspirational and enthusiastic about helping children not to turn to this path,” Maggie said.
While unable to work, Byron has given motivational talks at Lantern School and Monument Primary as well as at a company in Sandton. In March this year, he and Maggie handed over R32 000 to Cansa which they raised through Shavathon-type events.
They are planning more such fundraisers to enable him to receive the necessary treatment in India.
Contact Maggie Bailie on 011 766 3556 or 082 369 1081 to find out how you can help.
[Audio]: Byron receives good news from Indian healthcare centreThe Record was with the family when doctors in India confirmed the viability of the treatment in Byron’s case. Hear their first response to the news:
