Narissa Fraser
AT nine years old in 2023, Rebecca Amoroso learnt she had dysgerminoma – a tumour in her ovaries. And not just that, but it was cancerous. She was sad, but she prayed and hoped for the best for several months. And in 2024, she was officially declared cancer free.
Rebecca hails from Laventille and is heading into standard five at the St Barbs Government Primary School. She told KIDS she enjoys math and art. And when she’s not studying, she plays video games like Roblox.
She said life was pretty normal for her. But near the end of 2023, her stomach began to grow while all other parts of her body got smaller.
Her mother, Jewel Amoroso, took her to the Eric Williams Medical Sciences Complex, Mt Hope. She remained there for some days and was then told she had ovarian cancer.
“I was feeling very sad and I never wanted this to happen, so I cried,” she said in a low tone.
“I was scared,” she added.
But the words of her mother provided her with great comfort: “She said, ‘You are going to get through this.’”
Thankfully, the cancer did not migrate to any other part of the body and remained at stage one.
The last of five children, Rebecca said her siblings had been telling her they miss her and couldn’t wait for her to return home.
“They were very sad and they wanted me to spend time with them again.”
She said chemotherapy was a bit gruelling, and recovery after her surgery was also painful.
She recalled trying to have some broth post-surgery but not being able to finish it.
But even amidst the pain, she found the strength to motivate others.
“I encouraged other children (at the hospital) to pray.
“Every day, I would pray for my family and for God to keep me safe.”
In October 2024, she got her wish. She rang the bell after being declared cancer free.
But very candidly, when asked what was the first thing that went through her mind when she got the news, she said, “I wanted to go and get ice cream.”
She walked to a homemade ice cream shop in her community with her mom and bought a scoop of soursop to celebrate.
On ringing the bell, she laughingly said, “I had a little complication because I was a little too short, but I did it.”
Fast forward to August 1, 2025 – African Emancipation Day – she had a brief but unexpected meeting with another cancer survivor. During the Kambule street procession in Port of Spain, she met President Christine Kangaloo.
Kangaloo was diagnosed with stage two receptor-positive breast cancer, which causes cancer cells to use the hormone oestrogen to grow.
Rebecca said, “When I saw her, I went to go and talk to her but she went on a little further, so I walked down with my sister. I said, ‘Hi,’ and she gave me a hug. And it was so great to get to meet the president of our country.”
She’s not quite sure what she wants to be when she grows up yet, but she has narrowed it down to a designer, a doctor and a police officer.
