Dear Friend,
The Mother of Mercy Hospital is the sole referral hospital for the Nuba Mountains region, which is roughly the size of Austria. As a result of receiving referrals from such a large area, we often get very challenging cases presenting with late stage disease. In addition to the usual infectious tropical diseases, we have large numbers of cancer patients.
In August, we admitted two children with very advanced Wilms’ tumors. Wilms’ tumor is a pediatric kidney cancer which is potentially curable if diagnosed early but difficult to cure when treatment is delayed. Both children were under two years of age with very large tumors. We did abdominal ultrasound scans, which in both cases showed a mass filling the entire abdomen and the absence of one of the kidneys. We then gave several cycles of chemotherapy, which markedly reduced the cancer size but still left baseball-sized tumors in the small children’s abdomens. The only chance for cure was to operate and attempt to remove the cancerous kidney. We opened the abdomen in both cases and found advanced tumor that was stuck to the liver and intestines. We carefully dissected the tumor off the vital organs and managed to remove the entire mass. leaving behind no gross trace of cancer. After the surgeries, both children did well, although one developed severe intestinal inflammation requiring intravenous fluids and nutritional support.
I’m presenting these cases to highlight the capabilities of a mission hospital in one of the world’s most remote places. This level of care is only available in the capital Khartoum, which is still nearly impossible to access for our patients in the Nuba Mountains. Even if they could reach Khartoum, the cost of the treatment and surgery would be far beyond the means of the children’s families. For the treatment they received at Mother of Mercy Hospital, they will pay the equivalent of
roughly 2 US dollars
.
However, none of this is possible without a tremendous amount of support from our partners and friends. We have to buy the drugs and supplies in far off Nairobi, Kenya and overcome many logistical challenges before they reach our location. We need well-trained anesthetists and ward nurses to take care of these critically ill children. The doctor’s work is futile if there are no competent staff to assist.
Thanks to our friends and supporters, we have the proper medicines and equipment and well-trained staff to treat such advanced diseases.
