When a parent gets the news “your child has cancer”, your world as you know it, stops. In that moment, everything around you is moving but your heart, mind and soul stop. It’s a numbness that’s unexplainable. The doctor may continue speaking, giving options and advice…his mouth is moving but you hear nothing. The last word your mind is able to process is 'cancer.' That was my experience. “Jabez (JB) has cancer.” What happens next is a blur, lots of information that has to be pieced together with time. To some parents, there is denial. To others, there is the ‘who is to blame’ scenario. Cancer is an old people’s disease, my child is 6 years old. This is insane. This must be a mistake.
Eventually you come to terms with the diagnosis mainly because you don’t have a choice. Cancer does not wait for you to think for too long. It’s a time sensitive disease so, you have to act fast. You have to mentally process all that is necessary to treat your child. Everything is happening all at once. Praying, fasting, crying, screaming, hoping it’s a dream, learning the names of the chemicals that make up the chemotherapy cocktail that kills good and bad cells. Understanding the side-effects. The changes that your child will go through. The changes your family will go through. Understanding and coming to terms with the fact that your life will never be the same. But to a parent whose child has been diagnosed with Osteosarcoma —cancer of the bone—there may be additional and even more devastating news. The doctor says, “Your child’s limb has to be amputated, to save her life.”
This is Tiffany’s story, a courageous, brilliant little girl who survived cancer and is an inspiration to everyone she encounters.
My name is Tiffany Balkissoon, I am 13 years old and I was diagnosed with osteosarcoma when I was 6 years old. Since then, I have been in and out of hospital. Staying in the hospital wasn’t a good thing but Aunty Chevaughn and Uncle Noel made it very comfortable and fun for me although I was in a lot of pain due to the cancer. They brought games, movies, toys and did fun activities with me just so that I would be distracted from the pain. While I was there, I made some new friends, some were older and some were younger, but age did not matter, we still laughed and played to give each other support and most of all tried to make each other happy. Losing my leg was really sad and hurtful but I had to learn to accept that if they didn’t remove it, the cancer would spread to my entire body and I would not have been here today.
When they removed my leg and I finished my treatment, I was officially free from cancer. I had to go back to school. I have to say I was actually really scared to, but kind of excited at the same time. I was scared because I thought the children would make fun of my illness but they didn’t…in fact they were very fond of me. They treated me very kindly and they helped. To a child that is going through this at the moment my advice to you is to be strong, have hope, faith, trust in God."
This is what Tiffany’s mom Mellissa had to say:
When Tiffany was diagnosed with cancer I was not aware that children her age got cancer. The doctors tried to save her leg but it was not successful, instead the cancer came back more aggressively. So they had no choice but to amputate. The cancer (osteosarcoma) was moving up her leg. The pain Tiffany was in was unbearable. Her leg got infected and the only way to save her life was to remove the left leg as soon as possible. It was a very hurtful and emotional decision to make but it was the only way to save Tiffany’s life. As soon as the leg was amputated on February 7th 2014, she was pain free and full of life!
At Kiddi K 2018
Tiffany is an inspiration to me and many others. Tiffany lives her life just like any other child would. She is a very stong and intelligent young lady. There were times when I felt like giving up but we held it together and left it in the hands of God . Tiffany is now a very healthy child and I would like to thank the Lord, the Mt. Hope doctors and the JBF.
Tiffany’s family is from La Brea so one of the services they accessed was accomodation at the JBF ‘s Home Away From Home which was in Diego Martin at the time so it made getting to and from the hospital easier for them.
One of the most remarkable things about Tiffany is that once her leg was amputated and she was pain free, she quickly mastered the use of her crutches and could be seen going to the beds of the other patients and giving them pep talks…always with a beautiful smile on her face. She encouraged parents and told them her story and her advice was not to be afraid, but trust God.
Tiffany was successful in the SEA exams and is now attending Secondary school and wants to be a paediatrician when she gets older, she also loves swimming and singing. She was one of our performers in our HOPE concert 2013 and was also one of the back up singers for the JBF-produced music video “Tougher Than Cancer” which can be viewed on our YouTube channel.
Tiff is doing really well at school and whenever it’s possible, she attends our Children’s Walk Against Childhood Cancer. This year on October 6th Tiffany lead the walk using her crutches, with that amazing, brilliant smile on her face. “I complained about my shoes until I met a man who had no feet” is the adage that comes to mind when I see Tiffany. A girl on a misson using her challenges to propel her forward. Continue to walk tall Tiff. The sky is the limit.