Author shares insight into battle against cancer

After being told she had 10 per cent chance of survival due to cancer in 2012 and being alive to tell her story today, Claudine Venter is a true reflection of her book subtitled Only God can convert a “.” into a “,”.

Van Riebeeck resident Venter (35) was diagnosed with stage four non-Hodgkin lymphoma (cancer of the glands) on Christmas Day in 2011.

“That was a very nasty Christmas Day. I started having symptoms but doctors couldn’t quite put their fingers on it because it hides in the glands,” said Venter.

“You can take blood however you want, but it won’t show anything and it was only when a gland, the size of a golf ball, popped up under my arm that I was diagnosed. When they took it out my journey of fighting cancer started.”

Venter, her husband and her then 10-month-old son lived in Vanderbijlpark at that time and travelled all the way to Pretoria for her chemotherapy.

The resident said she had to go for a scan to check whether her body had been cleared.

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“It showed there was still cancer in my lungs, so I had to go for radiation,” explained Venter.

“I had to go for a full body radiation and as a result, I could only get 25 sessions of the radiation and not 30. My exposure to the radiation was too much.”

Venter and her husband were informed by doctors that due to chemo and radiation, she would not fall pregnant again and they immediately came to terms with the fact that they would only have one child. The exact opposite occurred after a trip to Bali, Indonesia.

“After my radiation, my husband won a week-long holiday to Bali at work and we thought it would be the perfect break. So going on the trip, I didn’t think of any precautions because of what the doctors said,” explained Venter.

“To our surprise, two weeks after the holiday, I was pregnant and we thought it was a good sign from God as a new beginning.”

Unfortunately, things took a turn for the worst when a pain suddenly developed on Venter’s back at 14 weeks into her pregnancy.

She consulted as the pain was excruciating and after going for a sonar, she had to digest the news that there was a lump on her back right below her lowest rib and that she would have to go for a biopsy to find out more.

“We had yet another sour Christmas in 2012 because on December 23 the results came back informing me the cancer was back. I, again, had to start treatment,” shared an emotional Venter.

“Because I was pregnant, we had to choose whether I would finish my pregnancy term and thus stand the risk of myself and the baby dying or giving up the pregnancy in order to fight to stay alive. It was one of the worst decisions I have had to make in my entire life.

“What made it worse I had to start with the chemo immediately after the termination. There was no time for me to mourn my loss. It was literally like a steam train just going through me. I just had my eye on the end, hoping I would make it for my husband and son’s sake.”

While fighting for her life, Venter and her family had to simultaneously deal with losing their unborn baby girl.

A week later, they received more bad news that the chemotherapy wasn’t working.

“Tests were done to see if the lump had shrunk but it hadn’t and I remember asking the doctor if I was going to die and she said she didn’t know,” said Venter.

“I was told eight doctors sat in discussion regarding my condition, which was when they opted to try an old treatment. Fortunately, it worked and the lump began to shrink. Because the cancer had returned I had to do a stem cell transplant and a lumbar puncture to see if the cancer was in my spine, but it wasn’t.”

The success of that treatment was a sign that the worst was over for Venter, who has been cancer-free for seven years.

“It took me five years to get to where I am today because I was very weak and couldn’t climb the stairs. So being able to go up and down the stairs is now a big victory,” said a victorious Venter.

“Because the cancer originated in my lungs and also because of the radiation, I was diagnosed with a chronic lung disease, bronchiectasis, so my lower part of my lungs are dead. I am thus, extremely careful about being healthy during this pandemic.”

It is evident that Venter’s experiences and past are no match for her strength as she continues to stay positive and positively impacts other cancer survivors.

She decided to share her story with others to help motivate and encourage people with cancer, cancer survivors, people who have lost their loved ones to cancer and those with loved ones who are fighting cancer.

She has done this through her published book titled Full Stop vs Comma, where she shares all the details of her journey, including her emotions, thoughts and paints a clear picture of what each step of her journey felt like and how much of a brighter day it is for her and her family to have conquered through it all.

“The grace of God is very big and He carries you through challenges you think you will never pull through,” said a joyful Venter.

For more information contact Venter on 082 887 2969.

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