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Cape Town - 13-year-old Qiqa Nobanda, who has ambitions of playing soccer professionally, has undergone successful surgery to remove a tumour that was growing between his hip and leg.
According to the DispatchLIVE website, the teenager was diagnosed with osteosarcoma, a type of cancer which is often found in long bones (arms and legs).
Qiqa previously complained to his mother, Thembisa, about a pain he felt in his leg, but she was under the impression that he had picked up little more than an injury due to soccer, which they could nurse at home.
However, three months later Qiqa and his mother were informed at the Frere Hospital in East London that the youngster was indeed suffering from cancer of the bone.
On Monday, Qiqa became the first child cancer patient in the Eastern Cape to undergo such an operation.
The operation was led by Steve Biko Academic Hospital head of the tumour and sepsis unit, Dr Jaco Viljoen.
Meanwhile, in pure relief, Thembisa expressed that she was reluctant to green light the procedure, but because of Qiqa, who begged her, they returned to Frere Hospital to grant his wishes.
"I was so scared when they explained the procedure to me but after he (Qiqa) agreed he begged me to say yes," she said.
"I am so happy and relieved that he will be able to grow normally and continue playing sports."
