11-year-old Christiana Sankoh Diagnosed With Cancer of The Blood Needs Urgent Medical Attention

Christiana Sankoh, age eleven and one of the thousands of school-going pupils set to write the National Primary School Examination (NPSE), has been diagnosed with Cancer of the blood, a condition which cannot be treated in Sierra Leone.

According to her medical report, 11-year-old Christiana Sankoh has a chance to live and survive cancer of the blood ONLY if she is taken out of the country which could cost her single mother, who is a low-income earner as her father is late, an estimated US$20,000 – US$60,000 an estimate from Max Hospital in India, As stated in the report, the outcome of Christiana Sankoh’s health condition heavily depends on how fast and how soon the treatment is commenced. She has been at the Ola During Children Hospital, Cottage, for the past three weeks.

BACKGROUND OF CHRISTIANA’S HEALTH CONDITION – FROM COMPLAINING OF A HEADACHE TO CANCER OF THE BLOOD

The mother of Christiana Sankoh, a single mother who lost her husband a few years ago, told The Sick Pikin Project that her daughter started to complain of a headache after she came back from school.

Christiana’s mom said she gave her daughter Miral Para, a paracetamol medicine for not-so severe headaches. But that doesn’t seem to help as young Christiana complained of having another headache for the second time after coming from school. Her mother became worried. So she took her daughter to the hospital for a test and medical checkup. According to the mother, they did several medical tests on Christiana, amounting to over Le 600,000. Christiana began taking medical treatment at the hospital for three consecutive days, and this helped her to get back on her feet as she returned to school. She resumed school and was able to take her final Mock Examination.

But things began to get worse for the young and smart Christiana Sankoh as she fell sick again, this time it looked more serious than before. She was taken to Connaught Hospital for a medical scan to help understand better what was the problem. Due to her severe coughing, she was told, after an X-ray, that she had Tuberculosis (TB). Prescribed by the doctors at Connaught, Christiana was given medicine for her “Tuberculosis”. This doesn’t help her as she was losing weight every day and unfortunately worsen the situation. Her condition deteriorated as the days went by, said her mother. The mother decided to seek treatment for her 11-year-old daughter somewhere else as the situation continues to get critical and tiring. Christiana was taken to another hospital located in the Eastern part of Freetown. She was admitted to an Ahmadist Hospital in Calaba Town for two weeks – but this also doesn’t seem to be fruitful as her health condition continues to deteriorate every day.

Her mother took her again to another hospital, this time Ola During children’s. She was admitted to the hospital’s Intensive Care Unit where she started to receive blood treatment. Her mother was told her daughter’s blood cells multiply every day, she had a blood transfusion. She started to respond well to the treatment, but again couldn’t continue to stand on her feet. The need to do another blood test arises as another test was conducted by the medical doctors, and unfortunately for Christiana who is set to write her National Primary School Examination (NPSE), she has cancer of the blood.

Christiana Sankoh needs the help of us all. She is a smart, brilliant, and helpful young girl whose fate has been laid on our shoulders. According to the World Health Organization, each year, an estimated 400,000 children and adolescents from 0-to 19 years old develop cancer the most common types of childhood cancers include leukaemias, brain cancers, lymphomas and solid tumours, such as neuroblastoma and Wilms tumours. In high-income countries, where comprehensive services are generally accessible, more than 80% of children with cancer are cured. In low- and middle-income countries like Sierra Leone, less than 30% are cured. Against this backdrop, we are calling on all Sierra Leoneans home and abroad, and institutions to join us in this fight. Let’s save the life of Christiana Sankoh and give her a chance to live.

Contact these numbers to help save the life of Christiana Sankoh☎️ +23276722736 or +23276793010

©️ The Sick Pikin Project 2022