It is interesting following the different journeys our members take in order to qualify as CAs(SA). Monica’s journey was a fight, and she fought a good fight with a good reward.
Monica Sithole CA(SA) is a courageous young woman who has defied the odds en route to becoming a CA(SA). She was diagnosed at the tender age of 22 with life-threatening haematological or blood cancer. She was then faced with the mammoth task of doing her articles while undergoing a dozen chemotherapy sessions at the height of COVID-19 in 2020 – yet nothing could hamper her determination to live a full life and achieve her ‘very big dream’ of becoming a CA(SA).
From the time of diagnosis, it would be a gruelling number of months of chemotherapy and surgery, but at the end of it all − and to the sheer delight of Monica and her loved ones − she would be declared cancer free. A year after her ordeal, Monica has chosen to share her inspirational story to encourage others in a similar situation − in her own words, by helping to ‘create a safe space for others to discuss whatever they are going through with someone who has walked the journey and fought the fight’.
The journey toward becoming a CA(SA)
Monica started her articles, her very first job, at PwC in 2020 and shortly after would have to almost on her own, apart from her family and a few close friends, live with knowledge of and adjust to a blood cancer diagnoses. ‘Having to go at this as well as fight a life-threatening illness was extremely difficult, especially because I was determined to not let what I was going through stop me from accomplishing my CA journey.’ The hardest part of treatment was having to juggle her first year of articles with attending chemotherapy sessions − a fact which, being a very private person, she kept to herself.
Undergoing treatment
‘I don’t think I quite understood the immense power that the mind has until I made it my goal keep thinking positively,’ Monica recalls as she reflects on the treatment she had to endure: 12 chemotherapy sessions with four different chemo treatments – doxorubicin, bleomycin, vinblastine, and dacin − as well as several scans and nearly as many surgical procedures. What made it much more difficult at the time though was Monica watching her family try to be strong but ‘hearing them cry in the middle of the night’.
The driving force
It was difficult for her to see how her health issues affected her family, especially because her family proved to be her biggest support system. Her mother, sisters and close friends supported her immensely throughout her ordeal. Meeting and engaging with other cancer patients also helped her, as she noted: ‘conversations with fellow patients about how successful their treatment journeys were going really gave me so much hope,’ she said, adding, ‘I was not going to let the cancer diagnosis and the treatment stop me from becoming a CA.’
Words of encouragement
Monica is still baffled by how within a few months of receiving clear results from a positron emission tomography (PET) scan she was able to sit for and pass her first attempt at the Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) board examination, though she attributes it to her drive and determination.
Of the entire journey, Monica recalls always borne in mind and heart her remembrance of what is worth living for. Her advice to all who silently endure such difficulties is to never ‘lose sight of that one thing in life that makes life “worth it” for you. Hold onto your dreams because that will make it worth it for you.’ Monica further emphasised the importance of dreams − how dreams allow hope for the future and how they help shape the present by informing the decisions we make toward greatness.
Message to all who aspire
Monica realised that surviving cancer meant that God has a bigger purpose for her in this life. She wanted to inspire people and instil hope in those that may be going through the same or similar situations. She also states that ‘most young people aren’t really informed about cancer’, which is not ideal, as cancer can happen to anyone. Monica is proof of this, as she had maintained fitness and health and didn’t have cancer in her family history.
Sharing the journey was not an easy decision. It took her a year after going into remission − she had to be sure she wanted to share as it would ‘essentially put me on a public platform, and I needed to be ready for that,’ she explained.
Monica says the reason for sharing though is to give hope to others that a good outcome is always possible. ‘Always chase your dreams and put yourself first.’
In 2023 Monica Sithole became a CA(SA) and having wanted to travel the world for as long as she can remember and having been given a second chance at life, she moved to the UK to travel and start experiencing a new and different culture.
Author
Zunaid Robinson
