Africa-Press – South-Africa. Receiving a cancer diagnosis can bring grown men to tears. Imagine, now how that would feel at eight years old.
But for Anuschka Panghoud (9), now one month in the clear from Burkitt Lymphoma, she is optimistic about her future.
The nine-year-old girl is part of the Advanced Edukos Foundation’s after-school programme and participated in its first Thursday art exhibition at Rocklands Library on Thursday 7 September.
Her grandmother, Yasmina Hendricks says she had mixed emotions walking through the exhibition.
“I felt happy. It’s the first time I am attending something like this and for my granddaughter to do something like this and express her emotions, it made me very happy and also sad,” she says.
Anuschka first started feeling ill around September 2021.
Yasmina says they took her to Rocklands Clinic where the sister on duty noticed how unwell she was. Her official diagnosis came in January last year when treatment began.
Burkitt Lymphoma is a fast-growing type of high-grade non-Hodgkin lymphoma.
“This is why Anuschka calls the sister ‘my lifesaver’,” says Hendricks.
“It was a very difficult process. Anuschka was very ill and wanted to give up, but we had to encourage her. All her uncles and cousins also shaved their hair in support of cancer awareness.”
Anuschka had a recent MRI scan which revealed no more cancer cells. School is still challenging in the wake of her recovery.
In a recent incident, Anuschka was mocked when a child pulled off her cap, revealing her bald head.
“Everyone laughed at her and when she came home, she was in tears,” says Hendricks.
The school was quick to deal with and resolve the matter. This gave Anuschka the confidence to go to school without her cap.
“Everyone looked at me and said how beautiful I am,” she says.
The Grade 4 learner has big dreams for her future.
“I have a dream of being a doctor or a veterinarian,” she says.
The painting took her about a week to complete.
“I felt better after finishing the painting. The painting is the story of how I survived cancer for six months. It helped me to express my emotions better. If I can survive, you can survive too,” she says.
“You have a bright future ahead of yourself so don’t give up, just keep trying.”
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