Help Donvey raise funds for surgery
In March, she was booked in for surgery to remove the lymph nodes.
Donvey Watt is battling cancer for the third time in 10 years.
Donvey, now 26, was first diagnosed at 16 when she found a mole on her left calf.
“I was still at Springs Girls’ High School and I thought it looked ugly and the shape was funny.
“The doctor cut it out, sent it for testing and found it was malignant melanoma and I didn’t need any radiation or chemotherapy,” says Donvey.
Happily she went on with her life and was planning on going overseas as she had qualified in a yachting course.
This all came to a screeching halt when she found out she was pregnant at 20, with her eldest child Nathan.
The pregnancy was a blessing in disguise as when she was seven month pregnant, she felt pain in her calf where the mole had been cut out and the doctor later found an olive size mass in her groin.
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“After he tested it, the doctor found it had live plasma which meant it was cancerous.
“I had to be induced and the doctor later removed nine lymph nodes, three of which were positive for cancer,” says Donvey.
She describes the period after Nathan’s birth as a very difficult time for her as she had to remain in hospital for a month while her parents took Nathan home and she could only see him on weekends when they came to visit.
In 2016, everything was looking up for Donvey.
She was blessed with a beautiful little girl Adriana and she got to enjoy a whole year with her children until the cancer returned and she felt lump on her neck.
Thankfully, on this occasion, the cancer was non-malignant, and she carried on as a young single mother.
In late 2018, another lump developed and after a fine needle abstract (FNA) was done, Donvey was told she had stage four metastatic melanoma and lymphoma.
In January, she started her first session of chemo and lost all her hair.
In March, she was booked in for surgery to remove the lymph nodes.
Fifteen lymph nodes were removed in total.
In August, a four centimetre lump was found in Donvey’s stomach, and although there was no evidence of the active disease, the lump is attached to the main vein and gets really good blood supply which means the chances if it spreading to her other organs is high.
“The doctor told me I will have to undergo a full hysterectomy on October 8 and both my ovaries may need to be removed.
“She actually said if there’s something she doesn’t like the look of, she’s removing it,” says Donvey.
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For the surgery, Donvey needs R55 000 to help with the expenses of the surgery.
“I don’t feel sorry for myself nor have I ever asked why me?
“My thinking is, God will never give you something you can’t handle.
“I’m ready to fight and I’ll continue to do so; I want to live and see my children grow up,” says Donvey.
For Donvey, family is everything and says her two sisters and parents have been with her every step of the way.
She has had a few fund-raising events and says she is eager to do her part in trying to raise the funds.
“I don’t sit back and let other people do the work.
“If there’s a bake sale, I’m right along there also making cupcakes and selling them,” says Donvey.
Donvey has a BackaBuddy page to try and raise the necessary funds (https://www.backabuddy.co.za/champion/project/donvey-watt) and alongside this, Hope and Halos will have a Ladies Night on September 27 at The Deck.
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