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Rumbidzai Zinyuke Senior Health Reporter
Five-year-old Fregstar Chikomo has been in excruciating pain for more than four months.
Every part of his body has been painful, including his toenails and gums. And for such a small body, the pain has been too much to bear.
But he has been bearing the pain.
And his parents have watched helplessly as their little boy suffers.
Mr Morelive Chikomo, Fregstar’s father, said his son started complaining of pain in his leg in October last year and since then, it has been a roller-coaster ride as they sought to find out what was ailing the boy.
“We had gone to the rural areas for my father-in-law’s funeral and Fregstar suddenly complained that his leg was painful,” he said. “At first we thought he had hurt himself while playing, but after looking at his leg we didn’t see any sign of an injury.
“We became worried when the pain did not stop, so in December we took him to Citimed Hospital in Chitungwiza where he was referred to a specialist who said he wanted to do more tests. But we didn’t have any money, so he never underwent the tests.”
When they travelled to their rural home for the Christmas holidays, Fregstar’s condition worsened.
He started having headaches, sores in the mouth and nose, stomach aches and cried constantly.
“Then he started having sore gums,” said Mr Chikomo. “He would scratch the gums so much that they would bleed constantly and we had to take a rubber band to help him scratch them without hurting himself.
“After a few days, his toenails started hurting. He was basically hurting all over his body and in places he could not even scratch to relieve himself.”
On December 27, the family finally took Fregstar to Arundel Hospital where a church mate had referred them. But that hospital had been turned into a Covid-19 centre so he could not be treated.
However, the child’s pitiful cries touched the hearts of the nurses who then arranged for him to be seen by a doctor.
After spending the night in the hospital where blood tests were conducted, Fregstar and his parents were referred to Sally Mugabe Central Hospital where they would get their results.
“The doctors there took us for counselling and then told us the bad news that our son had cancer of the bone marrow,” said Mr Chikomo. “They said this meant that he could not make his own blood.”
Bone marrow is a soft, spongy tissue that is in the centre of most bones and several types of cancers can develop there, including multiple myeloma, leukemia, and lymphoma.
Leukemias are the most common childhood cancers and they account for about 28 percent of all cancers in children.
These can cause bone and joint pain, fatigue, weakness, pale skin, bleeding or bruising, fever, weight loss, and other symptoms.
Acute leukemias can grow quickly, so they need to be treated (typically with chemotherapy) as soon as they are found.
Fregstar was transferred to Parirenyatwa Hospital since Sally Mugabe Hospital did not have an oncology unit.
“The oncologist at Parirenyatwa told us that they would treat our son’s cancer using chemotherapy, but we were advised to brace ourselves because he would get worse before he got better,” said Mr Chikomo.
“Since he started chemotherapy, there have been slight changes in his condition in that he no longer cries day and night because of the pain. But the challenge is that since then, it seems he has lost his speech. It has been a month now and he cannot speak.”
While they have had to struggle with their son’s condition, the family is now also faced with a bill of US$1 500 which they cannot pay.
After the initial treatment, Mr Chikomo had approached the Department of Social Development for assistance and it had taken over Fregstar’s hospital bills.
But the department could not assume responsibility of the US$1 500 debt that had accrued before that.
The family has to raise that money on their own.
“At the moment, I cannot afford to pay this bill so I am appealing to well-wishers to assist in any way they can,” said Mr Chikomo.
“My son’s condition is still serious and although he has been getting treatment, we have been advised that we could go to India for treatment.
“The doctors at Parirenyatwa said if we wish to take him to India, we would have to seek quotations from doctors there and they will facilitate our son’s transfer once we have raised enough money for that. We are now looking into getting the figures for the money needed to travel to India for treatment.”
Although Zimbabwe has made efforts to improve access to treatment for childhood cancers, Fregstar is one of the lucky ones to be getting care because Parirenyatwa is currently the only hospital with a unit providing care to children with cancer in Zimbabwe.
This has meant that the unit is sometimes overwhelmed and cannot offer services to all patients.
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), cancer is the leading cause of death for children and adolescents. Each year, an estimated 400 000 children and adolescents of 0-19 years old develop cancer globally.
In Zimbabwe, a total of 253 childhood cancers (age 0-14) of all races were registered in 2017 in the National Cancer Registry.
Experts say premature deaths from childhood cancers in most low and middle income countries like Zimbabwe can be reduced by strengthening early and accurate diagnosis through strengthening the primary health care workers.
In his address during the International Childhood Cancer Day commemorations held on Tuesday, WHO country representative for Zimbabwe, Dr Alex Gasasira, encouraged the Government to continue ensuring that all primary health care institutions could screen for cancer.
“I encourage Government to continue ensuring that clinics in all districts at the peripheries can actively screen for cancer so that children receive treatment early,” he said.
Early treatment could be the saving grace for children like Fregstar, who have been unfortunate to get cancer at such an early age.
Those willing to assist Fregstar’s parents to raise funds to clear his medical bill and for his travel to India for treatment can contact Mr Chikomo on 0718 829 437.
Online Reporter