South African Hip Hop artist, Oxijin aka Rumacques Gelderbloem, tells us how his colon cancer diagnosis challenged his confidence as a 29-year-old male. Oxijin aka Rumacques Gelderbloem (35) lives in Worcester, Western Cape. As a healthy 29-year-old male that enjoyed playing rugby for a community team, Rumacques’ cancer diagnosis came as a surprise. He says, “It [...]

Vibrant Lerato Monyatsi shares how she is climbing her way to victory over colon cancer. Lerato Monyatsi (39) lives in Kagiso, Krugersdorp, Gauteng with her 11-year-old son, Aobakwe. Misdiagnosis Being an extremely active, nature loving, backpacking hiker and supermom, never did Lerato, a single mother, think she would be faced with the big C.  “It was around December 2019 [...]

Prof Gita Naidu shares evidence that obesity is a significant risk factor for cancer development, cancer progression, and a patient’s response to therapy. In 2016, more than 1,9 billion adults aged 18 years and older were overweight, 39% were males and 40% females. Of these, over 650 million adults were obese, of which 11% were male [...]

Thandeka Malange expands on dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans and the imatinib treatment option through the story of a patient, Mr Tlakedi. Dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP) DFSP is a slow-growing tumour which can grow anywhere on the body. It’s a rare type of skin cancer that involves the deeper layers of the skin and can grow into the surrounding [...]

Prof Shingai Mutambirwa gives us a better notion of what metastatic prostate cancer is and the outcomes of the various metastases. What is metastatic prostate cancer? When cancer cells from the prostate enter the blood and lymph vessels and travel to other parts of the body where they re-implant and grow to form secondary tumours or metastases, [...]

With March being Multiple Myeloma Awareness Month, Dr Philippa Ashmore gives us a rundown on this bone marrow cancer and the increasing treatment options. Multiple myeloma (MM) is a common cancer of bone marrow. It’s most often seen in older adults, with a higher rate in black patients compared to Caucasians. It’s generally a chronic disease with [...]

Tamryn Vivian explains the benefits of oncology rehabilitation and why you don’t have to see your side effects as something you must live with.  Cancer survival rates have increased dramatically over the past 50 years because of improved prevention and detection as well as treatment. But surviving cancer is only the first step towards regaining the [...]

Dr Lizette Louw informs us how PSMA therapy is a rapidly evolving area for metastatic prostate cancer treatment. What is nuclear medicine? Nuclear medicine is a specialised area consisting of two arms: nuclear imaging which uses small amounts of gamma radiation to examine organ function, and nuclear therapy using alpha or beta particles.  In nuclear [...]

Pierre Matthee informs us of how social work in healthcare operates and the role of a social worker in a colorectal unit. Social work in healthcare Several myths exist in the field of social work. One is that social workers only work with abuse, the removal of children from their homes, and/or handing out food parcels. [...]