A Journey of Pain, Discovery, and a Place Called Home
“I just sat there and listened,” she says. “It was hard to believe that I had cancer this early and that I could die from it soon.”
I cannot continue like this… I need help to continue my treatment.”
These were the words Abebech found herself repeating quietly as she sat in a hospital corridor, trying to understand how her life had taken such a difficult turn.
At 55 years old, she never imagined that back pain would become the beginning of a long and uncertain journey.
It started gradually. A simple discomfort in her back, something she assumed would pass with time. But the pain did not go away. It became sharper, spreading to the right side of her back and flank, interrupting her sleep and daily life as she continued caring for her family and supporting them through small income activities.
“I thought it was something minor due to household chores or maybe age,” she recalls. “I never thought it could be serious.”
She first sought care at Mudula Hospital, where she was treated for gastritis. When there was no improvement, she knew something was wrong and sought further evaluation at Yanet Hospital, a private hospital in Hawassa.
“I thought it was something minor due to household chores or maybe age,” she recalls. “I never thought it could be serious.”
She first sought care at Mudula Hospital, where she was treated for gastritis. When there was no improvement, she knew something was wrong and sought further evaluation at Yanet Hospital, a private hospital in Hawassa.
After detailed investigations, she was called into a consultation room and given life changing news: multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer.
The diagnosis came as a shock.
“I just sat there and listened,” she says. “It was hard to believe that I had cancer this early and that I could die from it soon.”
She was then referred to Hawassa Referral Hospital, where her treatment plan was prepared. Twenty three cycles of chemotherapy were recommended, marking the beginning of a long and demanding journey.
But before treatment could fully begin, another challenge emerged. The cost of chemotherapy medications placed a heavy burden on her and her family. Each hospital visit carried not only medical urgency but also financial stress, raising fears that treatment might not continue.
During one of her follow up visits, she spoke honestly with her doctor in the hospital corridor.
“I have struggled to come for thirteen cycles of chemotherapy, but I cannot afford to continue the next cycles. I am not able financially,” she explained.
