8-year-old Kocho had a dream. He wanted to be a doctor when he grews up. In a place like the Nuba Mountains of Sudan, there are many obstacles that can stand in the way of this dream. Sadly, for Kocho, his cancer made this dream impossible.
Kocho was brave and happy to the end. Finally he decided he had had enough and did not want any more chemo. To the end, he would rally and wanted to play. He was such a sweet child. —Dr. Clarke, Mother of Mercy Hospital, Sudan
When Kocho was first admitted, he came in with leg pain. His mother thought it was an injury from a fall he’d had while playing soccer with friends. But the swelling revealed a different and more tragic story. It would take weeks to confirm because the biopsy had to be sent away for testing, but when the diagnosis came back it was bone cancer.
In an effort to stop the spreading, Kocho’s leg was amputated from just above the knee. When he returned three weeks later, the cancer had spread. His doctor at the Mother of Mercy Hospital in Sudan explained,
At this stage, there is nothing more that can be done to stop the cancer from growing. Right now the treatment is palliative, a way to stop his pain and let him find some joy in the final months of his life. You want to give hope and dignity to a child. He deserves that. And so do the parents. No one wants to give up on a child. – Dr. Clarke, Mother of Mercy Hospital, Sudan
In the remote, poor communities where we work, obstacles in reaching care, limited diagnostics, and a lack of access to specialized healthcare and treatments, means that cancer is almost always a death sentence.
But even when there is nothing left to be done, there is always something that can be. At Mother of Mercy Hospital, Kocho is receiving treatment to control the pain, and lots of compassion and love so that his final days are filled with dignity and joy.
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