The life of a 14 year old girl is hanging in the balance as her leg rots away.

Doctors say she could lose her life if her rotten leg is not amputated with immediate effect.

But her guardians who say they do not have funds to treat her have taken her away from the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital where she was receiving treatment, on the instructions of a pastor.

A lack of funds is not the only reason the 14-year-old's parents have removed her from the hospital. They believe their daughter’s problem is spiritual.

The cause of the 14-year-old’s leg swelling is rather bizarre: “I went to school and stepped on a stone. Since June 2014 I’ve been feeling pains in my leg” she told Fred Smith.

She says at night, the pains in her cancerous leg “is like [someone] is pounding fufu in it” – excruciating.

Before taking her to the Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, the 14-year-old’s parents had sought herbal treatment from many avenues.

Dr Edmund Aryetey, the surgeon who examined the teenage girl last week told Joy News she needs immediate medical care to stop the cancerous sore from spreading.

The surgeon says if the girl’s leg is not amputated, it could spread to her waist and kill her.

But the 14-year-old’s guardians have whisked her away to a church at Odorkor, a suburb of Accra.

Joy News’ Fred Smith report that teenage girl has dropped out of school due to severe pains from swelling of her leg.