HE catches her breath after every word, her voice raspy from the effort of speaking. But this fiveyearold from Bloemfontein is one bubbly kid – and she’s determined to say her piece no matter how hard it may be to form words.
Little Janique Venter communicates through a speaking valve because of a massive tumour located in her neck that’s pressing on her airways.
She was just six months old when she was diagnosed with stage 3 neuroblas toma, a cancer that’s most commonly found in the adrenal glands, but can also develop in the stomach, chest and neck.
Janique and her family had some good news recently: after undergoing multiple rounds of chemotherapy, her latest tests revealed the tumour no longer contained cancer cells.
For the little girl’s mom, Nadine Muk heibir, it’s been a rollercoaster of a journey.
“When the doctor told us she had cancer, I dropped to the floor and imme diately started crying,” she tells YOU.
“I felt like my whole world was ending. No parent ever wants to hear a thing like this, it was devastating. But we never gave up. I went on my knees crying that night and I prayed – I pray to a God of miracles and I knew that He would never give up on us.”
Janique is receiving an experimental new treatment now and although she still has a long road ahead of her, Nadine says her daughter’s positivity is keeping them all going.
“We’re just hoping that this tumour disappears. We know we have to be real istic about things, but we won’t give up hope,” she says.
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