Gillian Bruce, a senior case manager, answers imperative questions regarding prostate cancer and what medical aids will cover. A prostate cancer diagnosis is overwhelming and it’s hard to come to terms with not only for you, the patient, but for your family as well. Then there is the added stress of whether your medical aid will cover your [...]

Astellas and The Prostate Cancer Foundation teamed up in September (Prostate Cancer Awareness Month) to provide free prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing.  A total of 12 private hospitals took part in this initiative and a total of 1 241 PSA tests were carried out. The PSA test is a blood test to assist in the detection of prostate abnormalities. A [...]

We find out more about how the new Eucerin Sun Actinic Control Fluid SPF 100 works by preventing actinic keratosis and non-melanoma skin cancer. Skin is much more than our body’s protective shield, it's alive and reflects and affects how we feel inside. When our skin in healthy and radiant we feel comfortable and at [...]

As South Africans we certainly have a shared love for the long, hot summer days that we relish. While we are happily throwing on flip-flops and shorts to head out to enjoy the beauty that surrounds us, let’s be mindful of the irreversible and harmful risks that sun exposure can result in, and reduce the [...]

Ronél Rabé shares the after effects of having two surgeries and radiation to remove basal cell carcinoma (skin cancer) from her left cheek. Ronél Rabé (58) lives in Krugersdorp, Gauteng with her husband, Frik. They have twin daughters (26). Dry patch of skin In September 2018, Ronél noticed a dry patch of skin on her left cheek. “I thought [...]

You need more than sleep to restore yourself to the point where you feel well-rested. Prioritise yourself by focusing on getting the right type of rest you need to feel refreshed and re-energised. Rest and play are as vital to our health as nutrition and exercise. - Brené Brown We often complain about being exhausted with no energy [...]

Fiona Hardie explains why correct breath is a fundamental pillar of health. Completely underutilised, underrated and ignored, our breath is the one thing that keeps us alive. An untapped resource. Without it we die. Simple as that.  It’s important to understand how we breathe or are supposed to. Simply put, we breathe through our noses. [...]

Dr Nirasha Chiranjan, a radiation oncologist, unpacks the causes and warnings signs of basal cell carcinoma and the treatment and prevention thereof. With summer upon us, it’s important to remember that overexposure to the sun may have harmful side effects, including increasing your risk of skin cancer. Skin cancer is one of the most common [...]

The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) shares the most frequently asked questions by newly diagnosed pancreatic cancer patients. What are the symptoms of pancreatic cancer? Most people with pancreatic cancer (and nearly all people with ampullary cancer) will have jaundice (yellow skin and whites of the eyes) as their first symptom. Jaundice is caused [...]

Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen shares her plight of trying to find other survivors of choroidal melanoma, a rare eye cancer that she was diagnosed with. Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen (59) lives in the Western Cape with her husband. They have two children (24 and 22). Delayed eye test Due to COVID Wilma didn’t go for her eye test screening for [...]

Dr Daleen Geldenhuys unpacks what ocular melanoma is. Melanoma is a malignancy most commonly associated with moles on the skin, but it can occur in other areas, such as the eye (ocular). It can occur in the skin around the eye, the conjunctiva (white part surrounding the colourful part of the eye) and the uveal [...]

Katherine Gordon tells us how after one year of having no oocyte activity due to chemotherapy, everything had come back to life and five years later she gave birth to her son.  Katherine Gordon (39) lives in Douglasdale, Gauteng with her husband, Alon, and their two-year-old son, Joshua.  Acute myeloid leukaemia (AML) At age 32, Katherine was diagnosed with [...]

Mother of two, Rene Abdullah, tells us how she handled the loss of her career as a personal trainer after being diagnosed with EGFR positive non-small cell lung cancer. Rene Abdullah (52) lives in Bryanston, Gauteng with her husband and two children. Diagnosis Rene was diagnosed with Stage 2 EGFR positive non-small cell lung cancer in February [...]

Dietitian, Berna Harmse, educates us on nutritional status and the outcome of cancer, and offers tips for nausea. Being diagnosed with cancer is a devastating event, and most people living with cancer, experience the day they get the news as a life-changing moment. Even after working in the field of oncology nutrition for 18 years, [...]