Encomium
The announcement of the death of Mayowa Shukurat Ahmed from complications of stage 4 ovarian cancer earlier today (Sunday, August 21) in South Africa ended the fairy tale that followed the public spirited fund raising campaign applauded by the good people of Nigeria. With over N85 million raised, her death dampened the spirits of legions as they had hoped and prayed that she would return from her medical trip abroad alive and well.
But before she travelled abroad on August 10, she was a very frail woman who had been left to her fate. At a point, she was not receiving treatment at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital. She was at home in Ebute Meta, practically without the round the clock medical care and attention required. She was later moved back to LUTH, so that she could be stabilized before her trip.
Though the fund raiser lifted her spirit, tales of a scam was a troubling episode that affected her in no small way. And all the energy and mental preparations needed for recovery was soon drained. And a lot of time was wasted as the police in Lagos investigated the scam allegation.
By the time the investigation was concluded and access to the money raised allowed, many variables had changed. From the initial plan to treat her in the United States of America to the Middle East and later South Africa, the delay took a toll on her health and spirit.
What’s more, cancer is a devastating ailment. And survival rate of stage 4 ovarian cancer is actually between 5 and 17 percent five years after treatment. For stage 4 ovarian cancer, the cancer had spread beyond her ovary, affecting many other organs.
So, from the onset, her chances were very slim.
