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Celebrated Gospel singer, Ben Kariuki, better known as Ben Cyco is appealing to the public to help raise money for his sister, Joy Kiiru who is set to undergo a bone marrow surgery after she was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myloid Leukemia).
According to Ben, Joy was diagnosed with the disease sometime last year and went to India for further treatment. She responded well to treatment and was declared cancer-free until recently when the cancer reappeared.
Taking to his Instagram, the Happy crooner appealed to his online friends and family to help him raise money to help Joy undergo the crucial but very costly procedure.
“I really need your help guys! Last year, my small sis @_fu.raha_ was diagnosed with AML (Acute Myloid Leukemia) which is a form of Blood Cancer. Remember when I had shaved my hair? That was in solidarity with her because she lost all her hair during her chemotherapy sessions in India.
“Fortunately, the chemo was successful and managed to suppress the cancer cells in her body and she was discharged to come back to Kenya. She's continued to be strong in her fight but unfortunately, 8 months down the line and the disease is returning and now we have to get the full treatment which involves the bone marrow transplant and it's really expensive,” he wrote.
READ ALSO: Gospel musician Ben Cyco goes bald in support of ailing sister
“The thing with AML (Leukemia) is that it's rarely noticeable from the outside, but might be very fatal on the inside (your body). This, however, doesn't discourage us as it's also one of the few curable forms of cancer, just really expensive and that's why I am writing this with a lot of humility and kindly asking for your support.”
Diagnosis
In a previous post, Ben had stated that Joy started experiencing unusual symptoms that prompted them to take her to the hospital only to be informed that she had cancer.
The singer explained that he had at first resolved to keep the matter private but because of his sister’s strength and positivity towards the news, decided to create awareness and open up about the condition.
“My sister has been sick for a while now I think we are talking about 4-5months. It’s been hell, it’s been crazy because of the emotion, there’s something it does to you. She started to have problems with her menses, she’d cramp for 2-3 weeks and rapidly lost weight. She started turning white. Her fingernails, her eyes, her lips, her tongue, that’s when we knew something was wrong and rushed her to the hospital and they did a biopsy test and found out she had cancer,” he said.
When Joy asked him if she had cancer, Ben says he tried mumbling his way around but eventually said yes.
READ ALSO: Ben Cyco’s moving message on sister beating cancer
She started crying and responded, “Wow my testimony is going to be greater and it’s going to be used to inspire other people.”
IstandwithJoy
Because Joy was undergoing chemotherapy that resulted in her losing her hair, Ben shaved his head as well to support and stand with her during her cancer journey.
The singer posted a picture of his new hairdo on Instagram with the caption “Who's this? You need to watch my latest video with @wanjiru_njiru as we share the great testimony about my small Sister @_fu.raha_. No more hairline jokes,” he wrote.
