The story of the CAM Foundation is really that of Sam and his wife. It is truly his experiences as a cancer survivor that initiated the desire to help those who are infected and affected by cancer nationwide. Here is the story of Sam, who was diagnosed with Stage 3 Cancer and that of his wife, having been the sole care-giver during the tough period within which the sickness persisted.
It was October 2012 and Sam were about to marry the love of his life, Julia, start a family, and achieve all the great things that a couple looks forward to in life. What he did not know however were the tough challenges he was about to face, and the fact that death would soon become a grave possibility - not something you would consider when planning a wedding.
Unknown to him at the time, something was terribly wrong with his health. A week to their wedding, he decided to seek medical attention since he had lost some weight and was having severe headaches. The assumption he had was that he was possibly fatigued from the strain of planning a wedding.
The first doctor he consulted suspected that he had sinuses and referred him for a CT scan at Nairobi West Hospital. When he went there and underwent a review, he was informed that he had a tumor. This required some further tests to be conducted, and he was asked to give more specimen for lab examination. Since the wedding was already due at the time, he decided to take the test after the honeymoon.
Unfortunately, the wedding bliss was short lived. A week after the honeymoon, His tongue became swollen and filled up the mouth. The doctor recommended he be taken to theater to obtain a specimen for testing of the tumor. Two weeks after the test he was informed that he had cancer of NPC that has affected my ENT system.
It was then that it dawned of them the situation they were facing was a matter of life and death. Even before their marriage began, they were faced with a very tough choice; to surrender and give up, or to fight to the end. Fortunately, they chose to fight. However, to make it through, they needed the support of family and friends. Luckily, they did receive a lot of support in cash and in kind.
pe and it required that they act fast. He had to undergo both chemotherapy and radiotherapy soon enough. The money required for these procedures required an initial Ksh. 600,000 to commerce. Although he did not have much in savings, family and friends came together and helped raise the money. Treatment began soon after. Although they received assurances that it was possible to get rid of the cancer from his system, there was a dark side to it. They learnt that the chemotherapy and radiotherapy carried with them severe side effects.
They had the potential of affecting body cells to such an extent that it would be impossible to have children. The earliest they would have to wait to recover from this was projected to be 20 years. Still, they chose to proceed with the treatment.The treatment process itself was a tough call with numerous unexpected outcomes. First, he had to contend with low blood count that prompted the need for blood transfusion. And this had to happen before either chemotherapy or radiotherapy proceeded. He also suffered from wound in his mouth that drained saliva glands in his mouth, thus affecting the entire oral system.
His body also took a toll and became weaker each day as the treatment progressed. In fact, at some point, his doctor was of the opinion that he should the treatment. He may have felt that there was little hope in his situation. However, as Sam puts it, ‘God’s opportunity begins where man’s efforts are exhausted’. Sam narrates how at that time of hopelessness; God sent his way a cancer survivor who had overcome Stage-4 cancer. She introduced him to a natural diet that was made up of four components: vegetable juice, organic black strap molasses, soda bio-carbonate, and fruit juices.
To fully benefit from this diet, he was required to completely avoid sugar, dairy products, cholesterol, and processed food. Having no other option at the time, he religiously committed himself to the new diet. And that was when his ‘miracle’ took place. Within three weeks of consistent consumption, he was back on his feet. His blood count rose significantly and the immune system improved significantly. His weak immune system had previously required that he be quarantined to avoid the risk of infections through contact.
Better still, something amazing happened. His wife conceived in what would later be a good delivery and the gift of healthy baby boy. This was in spite of the advice they had received from their doctor to terminate the pregnancy or risk having a deformed child. It is this miraculous turn around of a seemingly helpless situation that led to him becoming a champion of cancer survival and healing. Here is our conclusion in Sam’s own words; “My battle with cancer was fought on three fronts – Chemotherapy and Radiotherapy on one side, Natural Therapy on another side and Faith Therapy that included intense prayer which helped me stay my mind on God.
If anything, God remained a constant factor in the equation that delivered victory for us. How do you explain that my employment contract at DHL, where I was working at the time, was not terminated even after it became physically impossible to attend to any of my duties? How do you explain that DHL kept paying me every month for a whole year, in spite of my absenteeism? How do you explain the fact that after battling cancer for one year, I got my job back and was allowed to be making technical appearances for another six months? How do you explain the fact that we had enough finances during the course of my treatment so that Julia and I were able to support an orphan with shopping and house rent for a whole year?
After one year and ten months, through 8 sessions of chemotherapy and 38 sessions of radiotherapy, I was declared cancer-free in August 2014. A month later, Julia gave birth to a bouncing baby boy, Asher Tumaini Macharia. How do you explain that other than God fighting for us from behind the scenes?
Today, there may be someone who is lost on what to do as they wallow in the murky waters of fighting this scourge called cancer. You and I can, should, and will stand with such persons as we trust the almighty to give us the wisdom resources and the strength to execute this noble task.
