Mighty Mack has been declared cancer-free for the second time after a minor relapse was detected very early; she is now ready for her first proper December holiday.
Johannesburg, South Africa (15 December 2022) – Mackenzie “Mighty Mack” Friedman stole the hearts of many South Africans and rallied many more to raise awareness for fighting childhood cancer. She has had a very trying year and a half, fighting Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML), undergoing a transplant, and now finally being declared cancer-free.
Mack was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukaemia (AML) on Wednesday, 12th of May 2021. Her parents, Megan and Bronson Friedman noticed she had a fever and was quite fussy and unable to settle. They took her to their GP, and through that consultation, they eventually learned of Mack’s diagnosis. If you are new to her journey, you can read all about her cancer battle and how she has won over the hearts of thousands of South Africans here.
After receiving a bone-marrow/stem-cell transplant in early January, Mack and her family began to settle into regular life. She was confirmed cancer-free on the 13th of April, 2022 but a turn in her health later this year, left everyone worried that her cancer had returned.
Thankfully, in many cases like this, some of the donor cells are stored in case of a relapse. The second round of chemo is done and then a minor transplant of the donor cells takes place. For Mack, this was the case.
In early November, doctors confirmed that there were signs that Mack had relapsed. They initiated the next steps which included doing a round of chemo and then having the second transplant. This proved to be a success and Mack was declared cancer-free a few days ago. Just in time for her to have her first proper December holiday.
Last December, the Mackenzie’s were preparing for the bone marrow donation so they had to stay focused on all the medical protocols. This year, Mack can just be a child, having fun with her family and soaking up all the pool time she can handle.
You can sign up as a bone marrow donor at www.dkms-africa.org (formally known as The Sunflower Fund) or www.sabmr.co.za. The Bone Marrow Registry is international, so if you are overseas, you can still register and get tested. If you have already signed up through one of the services, you do not need to register with a new one. The donor system is centralised, so all details are available to each organisation.
You will be notified if you qualify to be a donor. To register, there is no blood or needles involved, just a cheek swab. Registering is free of charge.
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