Still very much a child herself, a young girl named Khanyisa stepped up with maturity beyond her years to become her little brother’s pillar of support, guiding him through a difficult and unforeseen journey with childhood cancer.
Eastern Cape, South Africa (27 August 2025) – Some journeys are too hard and unfamiliar for us to walk alone. When tragic uncertainty rears its ugly head, it helps to have someone by our side to make it to the other side.
When a young boy named Nekane suddenly fell ill, his older sister, Khanyisa, became his constant companion, holding his hand from his very first doctor’s visit all the way through his ongoing treatment.
She recalls the day she first noticed something was wrong. He had started limping, a small change that quickly raised big concerns for their family.
“I took him to the doctor. He transferred us to a hospital, and they transferred us to Livingston. They did a biopsy, and the results came back, and we found out that he had cancer. It was a shock. Everyone didn’t understand how it happened, because no one in the family had ever had cancer,” she tells Siyavuka for Kids, an NPO dedicated to helping children suffering from serious, rare or complicated childhood diseases.
She assumed the position of being Nekane’s main supporter and carer as their grandmother, who had been raising Nekane, was unwell and couldn’t attend doctor’s appointments or travel to the hospital.
“It took a toll on everyone [the family], and everyone was stressed and worried.”
Though forced to be far from home to access the required healthcare, Khanyisa remained by Nekane’s side and equipped herself with information about cancer, its treatments and side-effects.
“We had to learn and adjust to the situation and understand his emotions. But now, everyone is used to things. It’s not comfortable, but everyone is trying to find balance and include him in things and make him feel like a kid.”
Nekane is still on chemotherapy but is doing much better than he did at the start of his treatment and is gradually regaining his strength.
Khanyisa’s advice to parents and families also navigating this hard journey is to remain strong, pray and take care of themselves too.
Though still very much a child herself, Khanyisa has stood by her younger brother’s side, caring for him with so much love and maturity beyond her years.
We commend her phenomenal strength and wish Nekane well in his recovery.
Sources: Siyavuya for Kids
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