Lisa Isaacs
LITTLE Sufyaan Oostendorp’s cancer has returned and he is no longer eligible for the bone marrow transplant he was to receive this month.
The Cape Times reported last year that the five-year-old had been battling leukaemia and receiving treatment at the Red Cross Children’s Hospital, but urgently needed a bone marrow transplant.
His mother Nuraan said Sufyaan went into remission in July 2013 after he was diagnosed that June. But he suffered a relapse in March last year and they were told he needed a bone marrow transplant.
A suitable donor was found in the US and the family had to raise R650 000 for the operation.
Generous Cape Times readers, Sufyaan’s family and friends raised about R85 000 towards his medical expenses and a donor offered to pay the balance after final tests were done to ensure an exact donor match.
Oostendorp said the family was told that Sufyaan had relapsed again.
“His body is producing too much cancer cells. The doctor told us that the cancer is back and its full-blown. We understand it is worse than what it was before,” she said.
The doctor has given them the option of continuing chemotherapy or taking Sufyaan home and spending time with him.
“The family is coping. He is still on his feet, he is still running around and smiling, he is not in any pain. We want to remember him like this,” she said.