A 19-year-old young man from Durbanville, Christian Steenkamp, was diagnosed with grade four medulloblastoma, a rare cancer.
His family is urging the public to help with funds or even ideas for fundraisers as the medical aid funds are running out.
Christian has also been diagnosed with Primary Generalised Dystonia at the age of six and has always had to work hard and rise above challenges. However, the cancer is not related to this condition.
Christian went into ER on Sunday 4 September with headaches, double vision, vertigo and nausea.
They did an MRI and found a mass on his brain. He had surgery to remove the tumour on the 9 September by neuro surgeon Dr Corrie Botha at Durbanville Medi Clinic and was diagnosed with a very rare brain cancer, medulloblastoma grade 4 with metastases in the spinal cord.
He will be treated by oncologist Dr Louis Kathan at Vincent Pallotti, including chemo and radiation. Christian is now home and regaining his strength before starting treatment.
Recovery from the surgery has been painful and slow.
The MRI showed a mass on the brain, and he was taken into ICU and put on medication to start reducing the swelling around the mass. The following day he was seen by Dr Corrie Botha, who told the Steenkamp family that leaving these tumours would mean Christian would have been dead by the end of the year. He has a 12 mm tumour and another 3 mm tumour.
Christian is the oldest of four, he was in Eversdal Primary School and finished school last year at Stellenberg High where he won the Principal’s Special Award at the final prize giving. Christian’s passion has always been in the kitchen and he started this year working as part of the team catering company, Concept Foods.
Limited Medical aid cover
The journey he faces is the kind of issue that needs money thrown at it, it’s as blunt and crass as it sounds, says his mother, Niki Steenkamp.
“His medical aid will not cover everything and so many people have asked how they can help. So I decided to create this page. All contributions will be very welcome and will go towards alleviating the excess bills and recovery.”
The Back-a-Buddy account has been so well supported by friends, family, industry friends, clients and people who have never even met Christian. Steenkamp said apart from this, they are setting up an NPO for all future fundraising initiatives.
“But now we need to step it up a level and think bigger. The funds raised to date will cover the difference on the surgeon’s bill to what Discovery paid out, that’s it. Right now as a family we can get by, but it’s going to escalate quickly. Christian needs and deserves the absolute best care and treatments available.”
Open to ideas
Christian’s mother said that they are open to ideas and ready to get involved to make things happen. We just need some smart, dynamic people to help us drive things forward.
Please get in touch if you have any ideas. Whether it is auctions, competitions, concerts, fun runs, fundraising dinner and show, or Civvies Day.
According to Steenkamp, this is not the time to cry or feel sorry for her son, it’s time to get productive and proactive.
According to Inky Dresner, neighbour of the Steenkamp family, Christian is a gentleman.
Financial contributions can be made on their Back-a-Buddy account.
