News

Woman needs help for surgery

Dawn Whitter needs $50,000 to remove a cancerous tumour from her thyroid. - Ricardo Makyn

DAWN WHITTER IS a woman in need of help. She needs $50,000 as soon as possible to remove a cancerous tumour from her thyroid.

Whitter was diagnosed with the disease in 2002. But, she has had related illnesses since 1992 when she was diagnosed with goitre. However, it was while doing regular check-ups that it was discovered that she had cancerous cells in that part of her body.

"I've had to do surgery on my ear and nose because of the problems I was having with my throat. Because of this, I'm always hoarse and because I'm always sick I'm unable to work," she said.

She said to date she has undergone two operations for related illness but this is the first time she has had to undergo a thyroidectomy to remove cancer cells. Luckily for Dawn the disease was detected in its early stages. As a result, hoarseness has been the only complication from which she has suffered so far.

Thyroidectomy refers to the partial or total removal of the thyroid. The thyroid is located in the forward part of the neck. It is usually removed when the patient has goitre or has cancerous or noncancerous tumours in that area.

Whitter has scars on her face, neck and ear to show for her previous operations. She adds that despite the last one taking place in 2002, she still owes money for the operation and has to pay medical fees each times she visits the hospital.

Whitter said for her previous operations, she had used her savings in addition to help from her family. But, her current treatment costs $100,000 and she needs $50,000 which should have been paid from July 9, 2004.

"I can't ask them again because they have it hard and they are also helping to send my kids to school because I haven't been able to work for a long while now," she said.

Checks with the University Hospital where the surgery is scheduled to take place revealed that Whitter was in fact a patient at the hospital. Checks also revealed that her date for surgery is July 28.