A long road to healing: How little Ahana defied the odds to overcome rare cancer

"One morning in November 2023 Ahana was lying on me and I felt a lump, slightly smaller than the size of a golf ball, on her back," recalls Ahana's mom, Avanya. Ahana's dad, Aveen adds, "Ahana didn't seem to be in any pain and had no other symptoms. But we were nervous."

Avanya and Ahana are Discovery Health Medical Scheme members.
The next day, their paediatrician sent Ahana for scans. "When he came back with the results, he looked like he'd seen a ghost," says Avanya. "The CT scan showed a large tumour in Ahana's chest. That's when we heard the diagnosis: stage 4 high-risk neuroblastoma."

• Neuroblastoma is a rare childhood cancer, mostly affecting children under five. Stage 4 means it has spread to other parts of the body. High-risk cases have a five-year survival rate of about 40-50%, according to the American Childhood Cancer Organization.

"The doctors were shocked. Given the size of the tumour, Ahana should have been limping or struggling to breath. The tumour was pressing on her lungs and spinal cord - but somehow she showed no signs of it being there."
"It was devastating. You read about people receiving this sort of news and saying their world comes crashing down. It's true. But within 24 hours, we regrouped, spoke to doctors, and planned our next steps."

A fight for survival

Ahana was admitted to hospital the next day to undergo further tests. "That's when we realised how critically ill she was," says Aveen. "Doctors said she had less than a 30% chance of surviving." Ahana started chemotherapy right away.
In May 2024, the family relocated from Durban to Johannesburg so Ahana could receive specialised treatment at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre.
"Ahana needed surgery to remove the tumour, but there are very few surgeons in the world capable of performing such a delicate procedure," says Avanya.
Desperate, the couple searched for help internationally and looking into trial treatments.

A lifeline presents itself - in Barcelona

In July 2024, Ahana and her parents flew to Barcelona, Spain, where a world-renowned, multidisciplinary team at Sant Joan de Déu Children's Hospital agreed to take her case.
"New scans, taken when we arrived in Barcelona, showed that the tumour had doubled in size in less than two weeks," says Aveen. "Ahana was started on a new chemotherapy regime to try shrink the tumour. Hours later, she lost consciousness and her heart failed. She ended up in ICU on a ventilator."
Ahana's was the first reported case in the world of heart failure caused by that specific chemotherapy drug. "We were in a foreign country where everyone around us spoke Spanish. It was just me and Avanya outside the ICU, expecting the worst," adds Aveen.
Against the odds, Ahana pulled through. Her heart regained its full function and there was no damage to her organs or brain.
"Because of her amazing recovery, Ahana's case caught the attention of doctors around the world. Researchers from St Jude Children's Hospital in the US showed particular interest in how Ahana recovered from cardiac failure. They wanted to use her genetic data for research to see if her recovery from this incident could help other children," says Aveen.
Ahana was then started on a different treatment, and after two weeks, the tumour shrank by half. That allowed surgeons to remove over 90% of the now smaller tumour.
"Just four days after surgery, Ahana was discharged. We'd planned to stay for two weeks - we ended up there for two months. But we finally returned to South Africa with hope."

Ahana continues to overcome setbacks

Back at the Wits Donald Gordon Medical Centre in Johannesburg, Ahana received radiation and immunotherapy to shrink what was left of the tumour. But in December 2024, she developed a dangerous form of pneumonia. She spent nearly 40 days in ICU.
"Doctors didn't think she would survive. Most immunocompromised children don't survive infections like that," says Aveen. "But Ahana pulled through again."
In May 2025, after several more months of treatment, scans showed no sign of cancer.
"Ahana's recovery has been incredible, especially after everything she's been through," says Aveen. "I've had chemotherapy myself - I know how hard it is."
The family has since returned to their home in Durban. They travel to Johannesburg for monthly check-ups.
"We're slowly getting back into routine. Ahana will start playschool soon. We want to help her have as normal a life as possible."

Support that made a difference

Avanya and Ahana are on Discovery Health Medical Scheme's Classic Comprehensive plan, which gives them access to both local and international treatments.
"We couldn't have done this alone," says Avanya. "Discovery Health Medical Scheme played a big role in supporting us during the hardest times providing significant cover for Ahana's local and international treatment."
Because Ahana's case was as complex as it was, the family received coordinated support from several Discovery Health Medical Scheme teams. This included assistance from Bongane Phiri (Oncology Case Manage Team Leader at the time of Ahana's treatment), Diven Govender (Escalated Relationship Manager in the High Touch Team) and Keshan Moonsamy (Oncology Clinical Client Relationship Manager).
Bongane explains, "We supported Ahana's family in several ways. We worked closely with her healthcare providers on treatment plans, fast-tracked funding decisions and authorisations, helped source treatment that was not registered in South Africa, and checked in regularly to see if the family needed anything more."
Avanya adds, "Bongane, Diven, and Keshan helped us understand the benefits and fast-tracked our claims. They were always responsive and thoughtful. It made a big difference to know we had people we could rely on."
Bongane says, "Making a real difference in our members' lives is deeply important to me. Meeting members or their families face to face, like we did with Aveen, brings a human touch to members' interaction with the Scheme and helps our members to feel truly heard. I always try to go the extra mile so that families have peace of mind, particularly in such complex medical situations."