The announcement of the death of Mayowa Shukurat Ahmed from
complications of stage 4 ovarian cancer earlier today (Sunday, August
21) in South Africa ended the fairy tale that followed the public
spirited fund raising campaign applauded by the good people of Nigeria.
With over N85 million raised, her death dampened the spirits of legions
as they had hoped and prayed that she would return from her medical trip
abroad alive and well.
But before she travelled abroad on August 10, she was a very frail
woman who had been left to her fate. At a point, she was not receiving
treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She was at home in
Ebute Meta, practically without the round the clock medical care and
attention required. She was later moved back to LUTH, so that she could
be stabilized before her trip.
Though the fund raiser lifted her spirit, tales of a scam was a
troubling episode that affected her in no small way. And all the energy
and mental preparations needed for recovery was soon drained. And a lot
of time was wasted as the police in Lagos investigated the scam
allegation.
By the time the investigation was concluded and access to the money
raised allowed, many variables had changed. From the initial plan to
treat her in the United States of America to the Middle East and later
South Africa, the delay took a toll on her health and spirit.
What’s more, cancer is a devastating ailment. And survival rate of
stage 4 ovarian cancer is actually between 5 and 17 percent five years
after treatment. For stage 4 ovarian cancer, the cancer had spread
beyond her ovary, affecting many other organs.
So, from the onset, her chances were very slim.
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