Kirby Campbell still needs support
EIGHTEEN-YEAR-OLD student of the University of the West Indies Kirby Campbell is a little closer to performing the operation that could mean the difference between life and death, as a number of people have stepped in to assist her. However, she is still short of her goal of $1.6 million.
“Persons have been calling and I am very grateful,” Campbell told the Jamaica Observer from her hospital bed yesterday.
“I am still asking for assistance because I have not yet reached the target and I need help urgently. I am asking persons for their prayers. Cancer can take away all of my physical abilities but it cannot touch my mind, my heart, and my soul,” she said.
Campbell, whose plight was highlighted in the Sunday Observer last week, is still admitted in the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), where she is awaiting surgery to get rid of a muscle cancer known as Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC), which reveals itself as a large lump protruding at the back of the neck.
SCC is an uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells arising in the squamous cells, which compose most of the skin’s upper layers (the epidermis). SCCs often appear as scaly red patches, open sores, elevated growths with a central depression, or warts which may crust or bleed. SCC is mainly caused by cumulative ultra violet (UV) exposure over a course of time. It can cause one to disfigure and can also become deadly if allowed to grow.
“People have been calling me and I really appreciate it,” Campbell said. “Persons who wish to make a contribution can do so in the account provided.”
Campbell was first admitted in the UHWI on November 12 for two weeks and again in January. She still remains.
Documentation from the hospital showed that the cost for radiotherapy is $1.9 million. Chemotherapy medication, which is not provided by the hospital, is an approximate $25,000 per treatment. She has been scheduled for three treatments. The family had since paid $341,000 and is now seeking the assistance of the public in coming up with the balance.