ADVERTISEMENT:

 

Cancer survivor Ipfani Matibe. Photo supplied. 

Cancer can be treated - Ipfani Matibe

 

After discovering that they have cancer, most people think that they will die soon, but a 29-year-old cancer survivor, Ipfani Matibe from Mufulwi Village, has another story to tell.

In June 2017, Matibe was diagnosed with a rare kind of cancer, sarcoma. This type of cancer grows in connective tissue cells that connect or support other kinds of tissue in a body. These tumours are most common in the bones, muscles, tendons, cartilage, nerves, fat, and blood vessels of the arms and legs.

"In March 2016, I realised I had developed a lump on the back of my knee. I didn't think it was a big deal and I ignored it, with the hope that it would disappear, but it didn’t. I then noticed that it was growing. I decided to consult the doctor, who checked it out and said it was probably a blood clot and couldn't perform any kind of test since I was pregnant at the time," Matibe said.

Although it was not painful, the lump kept growing. After giving birth to her baby, Huande, she went to the clinic and she was given a letter to go to the hospital. Because she was stubborn, she opted to keep the letter and not go to the hospital, hoping that one day she would wake up with the lump gone.

"One day the lump burst and a lot of blood was coming out. I reached a point where I became weak and I had to be taken to hospital," she said. "I got myself admitted at Tembisa Hospital in June 2017. Everything was happening so fast that I could not process what was going on. Blood samples were taken for testing and an X-ray was done. The results came back and I was diagnosed with sarcoma cancer. I have a family background of breast cancer and blood cancer and I knew other types of cancers, but I had never heard of sarcoma cancer."

The doctor explained to her everything she needed to know about this type of cancer, and she kept a positive attitude all through this shocking discovery. "I was told I would go for a scan to determine if the cancer had spread or not. The doctor told me that because of the speed with which it had been growing, the chance was 80% that they would have to remove the whole leg. Again, I took the positive out of the situation and told myself that even if my leg were to be cut off, if I could still raise my daughter, then I was good. I went for the scan and while I was in the waiting room, I prayed for a miracle. The scan results came back and, guess what, God had come through for me and the cancer had not spread," she said.

She was then booked for her first surgery but was shocked when she got to the theatre to find at least five surgeons waiting for her. "I asked why they were so many? One doctor told me that they had never operated such a big tumour in their careers. I immediately started to panic and asked myself if they really knew what they were doing. Dr Peterson saw the fear in my eyes and assured me that everything would go well. My situation was clearly different, which gave me more reason to pray and ask God to perform the whole surgery Himself. I spent more than three hours in theatre and, thank God, everything went well. I could not believe my leg was finally straight. I was so excited to see that because I had spent more than a month with my leg bent," she explained.

"I want to encourage everyone who might be going through any form of cancer at this moment or have a family member going through the same to never give up. Keep fighting with a positive attitude and believe that you will make it through," she said. She can be reached on 073 626 9722 or write to [email protected].

News - Date: 20 January 2020

Recent Articles

Search for a story:

 
 

ADVERTISEMENT

 

Mbulaheni Ridovhona

The 22-year-old Mbulaheni (Gary) Ridovhona has been passionate about journalism to the extent that he would buy himself a copy of weekly Univen students' newsletter, Our Voice. After reading, he would write stories about his rural village, Mamvuka, and submit them to the very newsletter for publication. His deep-rooted love for words and writing saw him register for a Bachelor of Arts in Media Studies at the University of Venda, and joined the Limpopo Mirror team in February 2016 as a journalism intern.

Email:

ADVERTISEMENT: