How One SA Man’s Stubborn Search for Answers Unlocked a Cancer Treatment First

• A Western Cape man living with recurring thyroid cancer for over a decade took his treatment search into his own hands after doctors ran out of surgical options
• Cape Town doctors performed a freezing procedure on a tumour near a patient’s windpipe that had never been attempted locally for this cancer type before
• The patient walked out of the hospital the same day with only a small puncture on his neck after a procedure that replaced twelve years of gruelling open surgeries

Martin Horn had been through nine surgeries over 12 years when doctors finally ran out of options. However, what he found in a US research paper would not only save him but also change the future of cancer care in Mzansi.

On 25 March 2026, a team at Netcare University of Cape Town Private Academic Hospital made medical history. Dr Gercois Human led a group of specialists who used cryoablation to treat Horn’s recurring thyroid cancer for the first time locally. The tumour had grown dangerously close to his windpipe, making further surgery far too risky for any surgeon to attempt.

Read also

Man shared inspiring journey from nyaope addiction to UJ graduation

A life disrupted and a disease that kept returning

According to a report by GOODTHINGSGUY, Horn’s story began in 2012 with a diagnosis of papillary thyroid carcinoma. He had part of his thyroid removed first, then the cancer returned, and he lost the whole gland. Radioactive iodine treatment followed, and still the disease came back again and again.

“I spent twelve years in a cycle of recurrence and recovery. Even after removing my entire thyroid and undergoing oral radiation, the issues persisted, ultimately resulting in nine different surgeries to manage the condition,” Horn said.

That very first surgery came at a permanent cost to him. A nerve to one of his vocal cords was severed, and his voice changed forever. Every single day since then, he carried that reminder of what the disease had already taken from him.

When a new tumour appeared too close to his trachea, surgeons said another operation was simply not viable. Horn was left with no clear path forward and a very familiar feeling of running out of road.

Read also

CPUT launches fraud investigation as failed student walks stage and takes another student's degree

“With further surgery no longer viewed as a viable path, I took the initiative to personally investigate alternative treatment options,” he said.

One research paper that changed Mzansi’s medicine

Horn spent hours reading international studies on minimally invasive cancer treatments. He eventually landed on cryoablation, a technique that uses extreme cold to destroy tumour tissue with precision.

“After finding a 2023 research paper where cryoablation was highly effective for ten patients in my exact situation, I brought the data to my oncologist to see if we could pursue that same path,” Horn said.

Finding a local specialist who could do it was another challenge entirely. Flying overseas began to look like the only realistic option, and his medical scheme was unlikely to foot that bill.

Then Horn found Human, whose advanced international training put him in a very small group of capable specialists. Human worked alongside Dr Dale Creamer and the Cape Town Interventional Radiology team to confirm it was possible right here at home.

“Because my neck had so much scar tissue, a traditional surgeon would have struggled to even see the tumor. Combined with its position right next to the trachea, further surgery was deemed too dangerous to pursue,” Human said.

Read also

Ex-England Star Paul Sampson Blames Head Injuries After £450k Scam Leaves Him Homeless

A small puncture and a normal life the next morning

Horn described the experience as almost surreal compared to everything he had endured before.

“I remained sedated but conscious during the procedure, eventually waking up in the recovery ward with nothing more than a tiny puncture wound on my neck,” he said.

He left the hospital the same day and was back to his normal routine by the following morning. For a man who had spent 12 years recovering from one surgery after another, that felt extraordinary.

“This treatment was a world apart from my previous surgical experiences. I want to share my story so that others facing similar challenges know that these advanced options are now a reality in our own country,” Horn added.

Human said that, “we aim to strengthen the availability of world-class cancer treatment options and minimally invasive procedures locally.”

“Because these procedures require rare expertise, our team has welcomed Dr. Jateel Kassim as South Africa’s first-ever fellow in interventional radiology to help expand local access to this care,” Human said.

Read also

Leon Schuster living in hell after four failed back surgeries: "It feels like hell"

One man’s refusal to give up searching turned into something far larger than his own recovery. For every cancer patient in this country who has been told there is nothing left to try, that search just became a little shorter.

See the full GOODTHINGSGUY report here.

More articles involving cancer treatments

• Briefly News previously reported that a team of Cape Town doctors successfully used extreme cold temperatures to freeze and destroy recurring thyroid cancer cells for the first time in South Africa.
• A cancer survivor celebrated a milestone after persevering with her studies while in and out of the hospital to complete her course.
• Liza Groenewald has been part of Pretoria’s running community for more than two decades and is known for helping fellow runners through tough races.

Source: Briefly News