Jenny's story

Jenny is two years old and lives in Takoradi, one of the major cities in Ghana. Her mother, Patience, wanted to share Jenny’s story to help improve access to treatment for children with cancer in developing countries:

“Jenny was born with a squint in her eye which made me worry but local nurses and doctors assured me it was not a major health problem. When she was 18 months old, her thumb hit her eye whilst she was playing which immediately developed into a red spot. My husband applied eye drops bought from a pharmacy but after three days, her eye had started to swell. Two weeks on and after using a variety of eye drops, herbs and mixtures recommended by family and friends the mass continued to grow. We eventually visited the local hospital for treatment. We had several appointments where injections, eye drops and antibiotics were prescribed but there was still no improvement.”

Jenny and her mother spent four months in hospital and visited other medical centres in search of support. After months of treatment and multiple scans Jenny’s condition continued to deteriorate. She was eventually transferred to Korle Bu Teaching Hospital (KBTH), which is supported by World Child Cancer, where she was diagnosed with eye cancer and received chemotherapy and radiology treatment.

“It was the first time I had ever heard of a child developing cancer, I was shocked. The doctors told me Jenny needed surgery to remove her eye. I was so scared and confused I started asking if she would ever regain her sight.”

Following her diagnosis, Jenny underwent surgery and was due to return home but still required skin grafting treatment. The next worry for Patience was how the family would afford it.

“I was happy to be going home but knew we would be back again the next month for more surgery. By the time we were finally transferred to KBTH we had almost run out of money and the situation left us completely hopeless. Professor Lorna started supporting Jenny’s treatment with money that we later learned was from World Child Cancer. Had it not been for this support, I cannot imagine what the outcome would have been.”

After completing her treatment process, Jenny is now back at home with her family but still returns to the hospital for regular check ups. Children like Jenny face financial barriers to treatment on a daily basis. With your support, we can reach more of the poorest and most vulnerable families of children with cancer around the world. Just £100 covers six months’ transport costs to and from hospital for a child with cancer. You can give the gift of growing up today.