She received her diagnosis 4 years ago and following a biopsy she underwent a left mastectomy at the Tikur Anbessa Specialized Hospital (TASH), and subsequently received 8 cycles of chemotherapy. In June 2024 she developed vaginal bleeding and underwent further surgery for ovarian cancer, along with an endometrial polyp. The ovarian cancer is a probable secondary cancer to the original breast cancer. She has been advised that further chemotherapy will not be beneficial.
She lives with her husband and 3 children aged 9, 8, and 5 in a single room house. Her husband sell fruit and vegetables from a small road-side stall. Her 8 year old daughter has severe life-long disabilities. She is unable to walk, talk, or feed herself so needs round the clock care but does go to a local school for special needs during weekdays. Kia receives a monthly grant from the Tewolde Medhane fund and intermittent food support from Hospice Ethiopia.
She has been prescribed anastrozole (hormone treatment) for her breast cancer, which is giving her menopausal type symptoms. She takes ibuprofen as required for back pain and also Sildenafil for Reynaud disease-type symptoms of her fingers. This medication is usually prescribed for male impotence and we shared some giggles as we suggested keeping it away from her husband!
Seni (not her real name) was a 30 year old married woman who lived with her husband and four children in Addis Ababa. Following the diagnosis of cancer on her left jaw she underwent surgery. Unfortunately, the mass was exceptionally large, and left her face disfigured and she had difficulty eating and drinking. In addition, the wound became infected resulting in an unpleasant odour.
She received chemotherapy at the Black Lion Hospital, but her condition worsened with severe pain around the wound and headaches, resulting in poor sleep for both her and her husband. She felt sad, hopeless, and unworthy and blamed herself for putting her family in such a difficult situation. She became depressed due to the unmanaged pain and believed her disease was a curse and lost hope; she wished God to take her life.
The Black Lion Hospital referred her to Hospice Ethiopia (HE) for palliative care. HE nurses and care givers started to visit Seni at her home on a regular basis. Her physical pain was controlled with medications. Regular wound care was carried out and Seni and her family were relieved when the bad wound odour subsided and she was no longer in pain.
Even though she was not cured from her illness and the cancer progressed, her living conditions were greatly improved as a result of the overall support from HE. Seni and her husband started to sleep better which they had not done for a long time. They were both grateful for all the treatment and support that Seni received from Hospice Ethiopia. Seni recently died due to the cancer, but she did so with dignity, peacefully, and without suffering.
Endaie is a male, age 37, a guard at US embassy. He was diagnosed with rectal cancer. He and his mother live together in a one room home. He was concerned that his mother was not getting sleep due to his disturbed nights as he had a colostomy, and a large tumour in his pelvis was destroying the nerves to his legs so he was virtually a paraplegic (little use of his legs). When we saw him he was in sever pain and his morphine was in short supply. He distracted himself by reading detective stories.
