Cancer fighter readies for new battle

With several doses of chemotherapy failing to yield the desired results for colon cancer warrior Shaunice Dean, the Allman Town, Kingston resident is now getting ready to try a new treatment method, in the hope it will rid her of the terrible disease.

Dean, 30, said doctors have recommended that she undergoes immunotherapy in the hope that it will destroy the cancer cells that now threatens her life.

Immunotherapy and chemotherapy are both cancer treatments. However, unlike chemotherapy, in which drugs are used, immunotherapy uses the body's immune system to slow, stop and kill cancer cells.

"The aim of the immunotherapy is to shrink the tumour in my liver. The tumour is growing, but slowly. Between January to May, it doubled in size, but the doctor says it is not growing rapidly, which is not a bad thing," Dean said.

However, it is unclear when the mother of one will begin her new treatment as it depends of when she is able to pay for a drug that is used during immunotherapy. The drug, Avastin, comes at a hefty cost of $3 million, which she is unable to purchase. She has applied for the Ministry of Health and Wellness' Compassionate Care Programme, and is anticipating a favourable response. Compassion care grants can be accessed by any Jamaican who is in need of any health-related support. Dean is hoping that after completing the six cycles of immunotherapy she will be cancer-free.

"From last year June I have not been on any medication. A few weeks ago I was feeling depressed, but I am tired of being depressed now, so I am letting that go. I fixed my diet a whole lot, and just trying to fix me. I am now trying to find an online job, because I am tired of being at home and not doing anything. And that was one of the things that put me into depression, because I feel consumed by the fight with cancer.

"Every morning I wake up I am thinking about what to do, eat or drink to fight the cancer. I am praying that this treatment will work, and the word 'cancer' will be one from my past," she said.

Dean was diagnosed with stage-2 colon cancer approximately three years ago. Prior to that, she was initially being treated for acid reflux for almost a year. The cancer progressed within two years, which eventually led to the gloomy 'one-year prognosis to live'. She is determined to beat the dreadful disease, especially since she has a 10-year-old who calls her mommy.

"I am going to beat this," she said.