Childhood Cancer Resilience is a child wearing cancer
June 2, 2025 Word for Word Media
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Bonni Suckling shares how she concluded what resilience really is: a child wearing cancer. 

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

I was in the final stretch of my postgraduate Paediatric Palliative course, struggling to grasp the medical terms and complex concepts. Then came the assignment: Write about resilience. What? How? I turned to Google for a definition: “Resilience is the ability to endure adversity, adapt to challenges, and continue finding meaning and joy despite hardships. It is not just about strength—it is about growth, transformation, and the courage…

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Childhood Cancer The unspoken long-term the side effects of childhood brain cancer
March 31, 2025 Word for Word Media
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With May being Brain Cancer Awareness Month, Bonni Suckling highlights the effects of childhood brain cancer treatment and how the journey never really ends.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

When my son, Jed, was diagnosed with brain cancer, I learned that the aftermath of cancer treatment is an ongoing challenge, faced outside the sterile walls of a hospital and within the everyday world where the trauma of treatment isn’t always visible.  Writing an article about the long-term side effects of childhood brain cancer treatment for educational purposes…

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Childhood Cancer Making a memory box
February 10, 2025 Word for Word Media
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Bonni Suckling shares how a memory box of her son, Jed, continues to bring her refuge fourteen years after his passing.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Throughout my son Jed’s journey with brain cancer, I learned a lesson I’ll never forget: the power of creating memories. It’s those small moments—the ones that seem insignificant at the time—that have brought me the most healing. Those memories are all I have left, and they sustain me. The most profound healing came from making Jed’s memory box….

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Childhood Cancer The gift of giggles
December 1, 2024 Word for Word Media
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We learn how Reach For A Dream’s Laughter Hero Programme is sharing the gift of giggles with children undergoing cancer treatment.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

In addition to essential medical interventions, psychological and emotional care plays a vital role in helping children with cancer to navigate their journey with hope and resilience.  One of the most powerful emotional interventions lies in the power of laughter, sometimes described as the best medicine. The Reach For A Dream Foundation, through our Laughter Hero programme, demonstrates the profound healing…

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Childhood Cancer Forever 2442 days old
July 31, 2024 Word for Word Media
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This is my journey with my son, Jed Brady Suckling; forever 2442 days old. Anaplastic astrocytoma, brain cancer. My son fought for 1071 days of his life.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Bonni Suckling (50) lives in Randburg, Gauteng with her precious fur-babies.  The last sentence that my only son, Jed Brady Suckling, spoke was, “Mommy, let’s make today the funnest day ever.” When he muttered those words, he could no longer use his legs or arms, he was paralysed from the neck down, and blind due to the rapid…

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Childhood Cancer The changing landscape of childhood ALL
April 1, 2024 Word for Word Media
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Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) remains a challenging and life-threatening disease. However, with new treatments and insights into the disease more children are being cured than ever before.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

What is ALL? Acute lymphoblastic leukaemia is a cancer of the white blood cells that are produced in bone marrow (spongy central area of bone where all blood cells are made). In ALL, the bone marrow makes excess abnormal immature lymphocytes. These cells grow out of control and enter the blood. They’re unable to ïŹght…

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Childhood Cancer How to be present while your child is going through treatment
April 1, 2024 Word for Word Media
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Bonni Suckling, founding member of Rainbows and Smiles Foundation, advises on managing fatigue, stress and concern so you can still be present as a parent while your child is undergoing treatment.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

When I was presented with this topic, I thought how I could even begin to advise on a subject that I failed so dismally at. The only person I gave attention to, was my terminally sick child.My only son, Jed, was diagnosed with an anaplastic astrocytoma (a fancy name for a…

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Childhood Cancer Paediatric palliative care
September 29, 2023 Word for Word Media
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Paediatric oncologist, Diane Mackinnon, advocates paediatric palliative care, stating that good palliative care helps children live happily and make memories.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Any child diagnosed with a life-threatening or a life-limiting condition will benefit from palliative care. Palliate comes from the Latin root palliare, meaning to cloak: the aim of palliative care is to optimise quality of life, mitigate suffering and help children and their families live well in the face of serious illness. It’s the active total care of a child’s body, mind…

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Childhood Cancer Liver transplantation in hepatoblastoma
September 29, 2023 Word for Word Media
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Dr Sarah Berkenfeld, a paediatric gastroenterologist, details when and how a liver transplantation is chosen for treatment of hepatoblastoma.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Understanding hepatoblastoma Hepatoblastoma is the most common primary liver cancer in children. In the past 30 years, overall five-year survival post-transplant has improved from 30 to 90%. Hepatoblastoma is staged according to how much of the liver has been invaded by the tumour both before and after chemotherapy and extent of spread of the disease. Cure is highly dependent on removing the…

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Cancer Care Preparing your child for treatment or surgery
July 31, 2023 Word for Word Media
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 Fiona Hardie explains the benefits of breathwork when preparing your child for treatment or surgery.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Witnessing a child go through illness and surgery is traumatic and heart-breaking. As parents, you feel powerless, helpless and terrified but try hard to remain stoic and brave in front of them. Imagine their sense of overwhelming fear.  How often have you heard someone say “Just breathe” when you’re stressed? There is, however, help in the form of the breath, and it can assist not only your precious child but you too….

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Childhood Cancer Hepatoblastoma
July 31, 2023 Word for Word Media
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 Prof Gita Naidu educates us on hepatoblastoma, a rare childhood cancer of the liver. 

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

What is hepatoblastoma? Hepatoblastoma is a cancer of the liver in children under three years of age and affects 1-2 million children globally. Symptoms A painful lump in the middle or upper right side of the abdomen. Nausea and vomiting Loss of appetite Yellow-coloured skin or eyes Unexplained weight loss  What causes hepatoblastoma? Premature birth Low birth weight Early exposure to hepatitis B Biliary atresia Hemihyperplasia Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome Familial…

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Childhood Cancer Karabo Nstiane – Thriving toddler
July 31, 2023 Word for Word Media
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 Kegomoditswe Nstiane shares the journey of her daughter, Karabo, who was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma at four months, and how she is now an energetic three-year-old who is thriving.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Karabo Nstiane (3) lives in Krugersdorp, Gauteng with her parents, Kegomoditswe Nstiane and Herbert Matlhole, and her older brother, Koketso. Swollen tummy When Karabo was four months old, her mother, Kegomoditswe, noticed her tummy was swollen. “I thought it was from the formula I was giving her as I was mix-feeding her with breast milk and formula. I took her to the…

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