Cancer specialist helps kids in Scotland and Africa after winning her own battle against the disease

A CHILDREN’S cancer specialist, who beat the disease herself, is helping save victims in the Third World.

Emma Johnson was diagnosed with a breast malignancy while working with children in an Edinburgh cancer ward.

The mum-of-two underwent surgery to remove both of her breasts and returned to work at Edinburgh Royal Hospital for Sick Children to care for her desperately ill patients.

During that time she underwent chemotherapy while working with her young patients.

But when she was asked to help other children in Ghana she agreed immediately.

A colleague, Dr Lorna Renner, had returned to her home in the west African country to set up a paediatric unit.

Hundreds of children with malignancies were going without treatment or even pain relief.

While most of the Edinburgh kids were winning their battle with cancer, more than 80% of those in the developing world were dying.

Their plight was devastating.

Emma volunteered her specialist medical skills and a twinning link between Edinburgh’s Sick Kids and Ghana was set up.

Since 2010 she has helped treat 300 children every year.

Emma is backed by UK charity World Child Cancer which twins First World oncologists with others in the developing world.

Emma, 54, said: “Treating children with cancer has been my vocation.

“It can be heartbreaking and rewarding. The challenges are enormous, especially to the children and their families.

“When I developed cancer in 1997 I went through all the emotions patients experience.

“However, I was determined to remain positive. I was only diagnosed because of my mum Gillian, then 57,

“Her breast cancer had been confirmed and I thought I should check myself, too.

“It was only then I found a lump.

“I knew what lay ahead of me and hoped it had been detected early enough to allow me to survive.

“You just have to face cancer with a huge amount of determination because there really is no alternative.”

“I lost some of my hair but the other side effects were not enough to make work impossible.”

As a young doctor in the middle of her cancer training Lorna knew she had to work around her treatment.

Emma underwent surgery to remove her breasts and within four weeks she was back working on the children’s cancer ward at Edinburgh’s Royal Hospital for Sick Children treating youngsters who were fighting malignancies.

Six cycles of chemo were to follow.

“I would go through the treatment at the city’s Western General Hospital then head straight back across the city to my patients at the cancer ward.

“It wouldn’t have helped me to dwell on anything negative.”

The burden of working in a cancer ward while undergoing treatment would have defeated most people.

But Emma refuses to see herself as particularly brave.

She said: “Many people are much braver and indeed stronger.

“I wanted to continue my training in paediatric oncology and believed I could undergo treatment at the same time.”

She’s also reluctant to accept plaudits for her voluntary work with Ghana’s children’s cancer hospital.

For the past six years she has been the lead cancer specialist in the twinning programme with Ghana.

It allows doctors to pass on their expertise to medics in Africa.

Emma visits the unit twice a year to train locals doctors to save lives and give vital palliative care.

She goes with a team of volunteers including oncology nurses and pharmacists.

Emma also sits at her kitchen table to deliver monthly video conferences to the African team.

She said: “I feel hugely proud to have been a small part in such a successful and amazing partnership between my department in Edinburgh and the children’s cancer unit in Accra and Kumasi in Ghana.

“When I had cancer I was lucky to be treated at a leading breast cancer unit in the UK.

“Routine tests and drugs are not freely available in developing countries and parents and children must feel afraid.

“However, their courage and dignity is humbling.”

The contribution of Emma and her Edinburgh team has been enormous.

But she insists both have learned much from each other.

 

Donation to www.worldchildcancer.org/donate  before December 18 are doubled by the UK Government under UK Aid Match.