A young woman from Bellville, who dreamed of becoming a teacher and changing the world through working with children, was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer linked to Lynch syndrome.
Sue Kayla Kotzee, aged 20, is a second-year student in the kindergarten teacher diploma program at SANTS Private Higher Education Institution. However, her aspirations are currently on hold as she battles this severe illness and constant agonizing pain.
She shared that she underwent surgery to remove a tumor in her colon in April and only learned about the diagnosis in May. Since being diagnosed, she has been hospitalized multiple times, undergone surgeries, examinations, scans, blood transfusions, and specialist consultations.
One of the hardest aspects of the fight is living with unrelenting cancer-related pain, as well as the necessity of wearing a stoma. She requires round-the-clock medication to control symptoms, and many days are a true ordeal due to the persistent pain.
The same hereditary form of cancer she received claimed the life of her father. Sue Kayla, the youngest of three children, lives with her mother, who lost her job due to injury. Immunotherapy has been identified as a potentially hopeful treatment, but she needs an amount of 1 million Rands to cover medical expenses and treatment.
She emphasized that each procedure costs between 80,000 and 100,000 Rands. As a full-time student, she relies solely on her mother, who is home recovering from an injury, since her father passed away from the same cancer. The main issue is the cost. Although she has medical insurance, it does not cover all expenses related to the required treatment and specialized care.
The financial deficit is significant, and the estimated cost of immunotherapy and associated medical expenses can reach 1 million Rands. The family and Sue Kayla herself cannot cover these costs independently, so she humbly asks for support. The collected funds will go towards paying for immunotherapy treatment not covered by insurance; oncologist and specialist consultations, hospital and medical expenses, diagnostic tests, pathological tests, continuous monitoring, medication, and supportive therapy, as well as transport and other related treatment needs.
Despite all the life-threatening difficulties, Sue Kayla is determined to continue the fight, and the dream of making a positive contribution sustains her. She believes that the desire to become a teacher has always been her goal, as she wants to improve the lives of small children. Even facing daily hardships, she maintains this dream. She notes that cancer has changed her life, but not taken away hope.
Sue Kayla created a page on BackaBuddy to raise the necessary funds for cancer-related treatment and surgeries.