Smiling through the struggle

Joey Viljoen’s story is one of a battle she is fighting with cancer, a battle she intends to win.
Joey, known for her involvement in charities and fund raisers, was diagnosed with cancer in late September when she went for a scan after suffering from severe stomach pains. Doctors found two lumps on her inner stomach lining.
After receiving her results of her scan she went on to see a specialist and it was found that on her outside stomach there were a number of lymph nodes.

Joey Viljoen holds up the oil based baby big five painting she has on raffle.

She had to undergo surgery, initially doctors only wanted to remove the middle of her stomach, the affected area, but due to the spread of the nodes Joey underwent a total gastrectomy – in laymen’s terms Joey’s entire stomach was removed in hopes of stopping the cancer’s spread.

Joey now undergoes chemotherapy by method of Xeloda pills, to date she has been on two sessions. Each session involves her taking the pill twice daily for two weeks with a week of rest in-between sessions. She has a remaining four sessions to go. The purpose of the chemotherapy is to kill the remaining cancerous cells.

“I will be going on radiation treatment, I had to go for CT scans and I am waiting for the oncologist to work out my radiation plan,” she said.

Her whole eating lifestyle has changed since she has been placed on a special diet, not only that but Joey must eat smaller portions of food, at a slower rate.

“I try to eat as normal as possible,” she said.

Joey added that the experience was a very big life change,

“It’s not just your eating, but also your emotions and your whole life takes a 180° turn,” she said.

To help pay for the number of radiation sessions as well as the surgeries she has undergone, Joey is running an oil painting raffle.

The fine oil painting features the baby big five, it was painted by her mother Rina, and comes in a beautiful frame; the raffle ends on December 19, with a set back date of end of January 2016.

“I am being optimistic, I have a lot to look forward to and this is just a set back, a stepping stone in my life – we have to get through the bad in life to find the good,” she said.

Joey believes that the struggles she faces will be her life’s testimony.
She talks on her feelings after first finding out she was diagnosed with cancer,

“In the beginning it was bad, I went through a lot of emotional dips. Just be positive – if you hold onto the negativity you go backwards.”

If you would like to purchase a raffle ticket at R25 a ticket, contact Joey on 072 113 0689.