Childhood Cancer Archives

December 1, 2025 Word for Word Media

Bonita Suckling (mom to Jed) talks about grieving deceased loved ones on special days, like Christmas.

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

For nearly a decade, I didn’t do Christmas. No fairy lights on the balcony. No laughter spilling from the kitchen. Phone off. Silence. Dinner was peanut butter on toast. Birthdays came and went like ordinary days. Holidays had no colour, no music, no reason. Grief moved in and unpacked its suitcase. I think, in some strange way, I was honouring my son, Jed, by being sad. I wanted…

Childhood Cancer The power of a mother’s intuition

October 1, 2025 Word for Word Media

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Bonni Suckling depicts her mother’s intuition in a fictional monologue of her late son, Jed Brady Thomas-Suckling.

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

The knowing My name is Jed. I liked Buzz Lightyear, Ben10, Cars, my family, and my stinky dog. I liked playing with my Bakugan dinosaur eggs and watching cartoons. I liked it when the sun came in through the curtains in the morning and made shapes on my blankets. I liked smooth peanut butter, but not the crusts. I loved throwing stones in…

Childhood Cancer Cynthia Apiyo – Rise up

August 4, 2025 Word for Word Media

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Cynthia Apiyo recalls how she lost her son, Jaydon, three years ago and calls on the public to unite for the interest of paediatric oncology.

Cynthia Apiyo (37) lives in Pretoria, Gauteng with her husband, Loyd, and their six-year-old daughter, Jemimah. I remember the ophthalmologist (specialist eye doctor) saying he suspected cancer. In that moment, the trapdoor opened, and I fell. How could Jaydon, my sweet two-year-old boy have cancer? Loyd, Jaydon, Jemimah, and I headed to what should have been a routine appointment. The four of us squeezed into our car with plans for the playground afterward. Just another weekday….

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…

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…

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….

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…

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…

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 ﬁght…

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…

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…

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…