Update of Baby Tiani
This article is just a follow up on my previous story on baby Tiani. For those who did not read the previous story, baby Tiani is a beautiful 19 month old baby girl who has got brain cancer. The tumour (which was 7cm by 6cm) was successfully removed. Baby Tiani has been receiving chemo therapy but it is not wining her fight against cancer. What she really needs is radiation but unfortunately she is just too young for that. They only give kids that are older than three years old radiation treatment. Unfortunately the side effects of radiation (due to where the location of the tumour was, near her brainstem) it can cause blindness, deafness, developmental and growth delays or abnormalities and a reduction in IQ. It can also cause damage to the healthy surrounding tissue.
So baby Tiani’s mommy (Tersia) found a different type of radiation called “Proton therapy”. Compared with standard radiation proton therapy has several benefits. It reduces the risk of radiation damage to healthy tissue, may allow a higher radiation dose to be directed to the tumour, and may result in fewer and less severe side effects (such as low blood counts, fatigue and nausea). Proton therapy has been used for more than 50 years and lowers the risk of tumours recurring later in life.
Tersia found the only centre in South-Africa where they have this machinery to do proton therapy – they do it at the iThemba labs in Stellenbosch. But, they only do the proton treatment during the months of March, May, September and November and only on Mondays and Fridays. They unfortunately don’t have an oncologist working there at the moment, as he immigrated to Ireland. So they won’t be able to help Baby Tiani in South Africa.
Tersia then searched for centres overseas that do proton radiation on a regular basis and she spoke to a neuro-oncologist (as we don’t have one in South-Africa). He said Tiani would need to go for proton radiation as soon as possible and would need between 4 and 7 weeks of consecutive treatment – Monday to Friday – resting during the weekends.
Dr Jeff Buchsbaum from the IU Health Proton Therapy Centre in the United States contacted Tersia and told Tersia that their centre has a very extensive paediatric focus and they would love to take on my case. They estimate the cost for 30 days of treatment to be 112 000 US dollars which is the equivalent of R940 000.
So far, thanks to all of the wonderful and generous people out there about R330k has been raised for Tersia and Baby Tiani to go over to the states. But as you can see, they still have a way to go. But we are all positive that the goal will be reached and that they will be going over to America.
Tiani, this past weekend had her chemo therapy sessions. Tiani had a difficult day - sick from the chemo, she is vomiting and in pain, but still smiling :) so hard for her mommy to see her like this - the images of her crying because she doesn't understand what is happening to her body gets stuck in her mother’s mind... but then she gets up and help her to bath her little sister - so precious!
You can log onto http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hope-for-Tiani/496685093683925 to go and view Baby Tiani’s Facebook page or http://vane275.wix.com/hope-for-tiani-#!home/mainPage for the website that has been created for Baby Tiani.
Many thanks for all who have assisted baby Tiani and her family!
Please share to all of your friends and family!
Regards
Liz Steyn
Liz.shanesteyn@gmail.com
Disclaimer: All articles and letters published on MyNews24 have been independently written by members of News24's community. The views of users published on News24 are therefore their own and do not necessarily represent the views of News24. News24 editors also reserve the right to edit or delete any and all comments received.
