When Mitchell’s Plain teen Chad Payne was diagnosed with cancer at the age of 15 it came as a shocking blow to his parents.

“I did not expect this. When he got diagnosed, I could not concentrate at work. I could not sleep and could not understand that this is happening to our son,” says Brian Payne, recalling his reaction after learning Chad had been diagnosed with a Ewing sarcoma tumour in his spine.

Chad’s mother, Tania Payne, says the news was devastating. “We were caught off guard, though we knew that he would be helped.”

While Chad was fighting cancer - including going for chemotherapy and radiotherapy six days a week for a year and a half at Groote Schuur’s oncology clinic - he spent two and a half years in a wheelchair.

“It was hard, I could not do all the things I used to do,” he says.

But his mother says the family stayed positive, and today Chad, now 18, is free from cancer and finishing his schooling at Mitchell’s Plain School of Skills this year.

“I felt great that I could overcome cancer through this treatment and ring the bell at the hospital. After physiotherapy, I could do all the daily things I like doing,” he says.

“Remain positive and keep on working on your dreams,” he says to others facing the same battle.

Chad and his parents were at Groote Schuur’s oncology department clinic last Friday for an event held by the CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation to mark September’s Childhood Cancer Awareness Month.

CHOC offers support and accommodation to child cancer patients and their families who live far from the hospitals that provide cancer treatment.

Ms Payne thanked CHOC for their support in delivering toiletries and amenities to their home, and she also thanked the oncology department and its specialist radiation oncologist Dr Thurandrie Naiker for “going out of their way to support Chad”.

CHOC regional manager Lynette Muthuray said they wanted to continue to raise awareness about childhood cancer and its “SILAUN” warning signs:

S – seek medical help early for ongoing symptoms.

I – white spot in the eye, new squint, sudden blindness or bulging eyeball.

L – lump on the stomach, pelvis, head, arms, legs, testicle or glands.

U – unexplained fever present for over two weeks, weight loss, fatigue, pale appearance, easy bruising and bleeding.

A – aching bones, joints, back and easy fractures.

N – neurological signs, a change in walk, balance or speech, regression, continuous headaches with / without vomiting and enlarged head.

Visit choc.org.za or call 021 531 0052 during office hours to find out more about how you can support CHOC.

The CHOC team and Groote Schuur Hospital staff and volunteers at the Childhood Cancer Awareness Month event held at Groote Schuur’s oncology department clinic on Friday.

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