Celebrate your age out loud is this issue’s theme and with that Avril de Beer explains How age plays a role in your treatment. Keeping age in mind, Ana Costa was surprised at how well her husband, Norberto, aged 65, has done during chemotherapy. Read their sweet story A real give and take.
I love how Dirk Human speaks openly about how his diagnosis caused him to feel depressed and how he quickly learnt the importance of sharing what he was feeling with his family for them to better understand what he was going through. Read Open and upfront in our special feature Oncology Man, plus Men in Crisis where Dr Chris van den Berg expands on the mental health of South African men.
Campaigning for Cancer gives sound advice to ensure you Get the best possible treatment, while GIST Support International educate us on Gastrointesrinal stromal tumours: frequently asked questions.
Enjoy this issue!
Laurelle Williams
editor@wordforwordmedia.co.za
Photo by Antoinette van Staden Photography | Follow on Facebook & Instagram
IN THIS ISSUE
Paediatric palliative care
Paediatric oncologist, Diane Mackinnon, advocates paediatric palliative care, stating that good palliative care helps children live happily and make memories. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Any child diagnosed with a life-threatening or a life-limiting condition will benefit from palliative care. Palliate comes from the [...]
Where are they now?
Two of our Cancer Warriors, Paula Robertson and Xolani Hlongwane, share what has happened since they shared their stories. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Paula Robertson Paula Robertson (65) lives in Glenvista, Gauteng with her husband. She is a proud granny to three grandchildren. [...]
FOURsight – eye problems
Dr Jiten Mistry describes four eye problems to look out for during oncology treatments. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Eye health can easily be overlooked when faced with a life-threatening diagnosis such as cancer. Certain cancers, and even cancer treatments, can potentially have a [...]
Finding your inner calm
How do you find your inner calm in the face of a cancer diagnosis and treatment? Avril de Beer suggests a few ideas. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Being diagnosed with cancer is a life-altering experience giving rise to distress, emotional turmoil, and feelings [...]
Liver transplantation in hepatoblastoma
Dr Sarah Berkenfeld, a paediatric gastroenterologist, details when and how a liver transplantation is chosen for treatment of hepatoblastoma. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Understanding hepatoblastoma Hepatoblastoma is the most common primary liver cancer in children. In the past 30 years, overall five-year survival [...]
Peptide receptor radionuclide therapy
Dr Lizette Louw educates on peptide receptor radionuclide therapy, a nuclear medicine therapy, and explains why it’s an effective treatment choice for neuroendocrine tumours. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies What is nuclear medicine? Nuclear medicine is a specialised area of medical imaging that uses [...]
What people with darker skin tones need to know about skin cancer
Skin cancer is a condition that affects people of all skin colours, including those with darker skin tones. Dr Rakesh Newaj, a dermatologist, elaborates further. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Skin cancer is a significant health concern that affects people of all skin colours. [...]
Stomach cancer
Dr Daleen Geldenhuys educates us on stomach cancer and explains why nutritional support is imperative. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies What is stomach cancer? There are several cancers that can originate in the stomach. These include MALT lymphomas, neuroendocrine tumours, and adenocarcinomas, which will [...]
Arlene Sanford – I’ve always had chutzpah
Arlene Sanford says she has always had chutzpah (nerve) and now she is using that chutzpah to fight metastatic stomach cancer. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Arlene Sanford (66) lives with her husband, Neil, in Rivonia, Gauteng. Around mid-2022, Arlene started losing weight as [...]
A bird’s eye view of Hodgkin lymphoma
Dr Garrick Laudin helps us understand the disease process of Hodgkin lymphoma and the available treatments thereof. What is Hodgkin lymphoma? Hodgkin lymphoma is a disease process typically confined to the lymph nodes and lymphatic structures throughout the body. Lymph nodes are collections of tissue distributed strategically throughout the head, neck, chest, armpits, abdomen and [...]
Uterine cancer – incubating the wrong cells
Dr Mia Hugo educates us on the risk of developing uterine cancer and the treatment options that are available. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies What is uterine cancer? It’s a general term that describes cancer in your uterus, with two main subtypes being endometrial cancer and uterine [...]
Caryl Pienaar – No tears, no anger, no pity
Caryl Pienaar shares her journey of cervical cancer, and recently uterine cancer for which she is still undergoing active treatment. You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies Caryl Pienaar (59) lives in Radiokop, Gauteng. Cervical cancer In 2016 after a few years of being menopausal, I [...]
RESOURCES
To honour Men’s Health Month (June), we feature Dr Langa Mbhele, a male breast cancer survivor on the cover, who admits that if his wife didn’t push him to get his nipple discharge seen to, he would have delayed it as much as possible. He also tells us about the transition From doctor to patient.
Word For Word Media are pleased to present The 2023 Big C Survivor’s Guide, with the focus being the top five cancers
in South African women and men. We have also included the top five cancers affecting children. To all the survivors, our hope is that this booklet will assist in your journey, no matter how big or small, as long as you know you are not alone; we are here for you, we are oncology buddies.
We still have The Big C Online Directory to help you find any A-Z listing of all things cancer related.