Within the healthcare environment there are so many technologies emerging, it is often hard to tell which options are safe or effective. At Mediclinic Durbanville, the da Vinci robotic surgery is proving its worth in terms of improved patient outcomes. When talking to Dr Gawie Bruwer, a urologist at Mediclinic Durbanville who has been using the da Vinci since 2014, we can easily detect the excitement with which he speaks about the results being achieved. From the quicker recovery after the less invasive procedure to the more accurate diagnosis of the cancer progression, the patients being treated with this robot…
One can only imagine what a child cancer patient goes through when being ‘prodded and pricked’ to find a vein in order to receive repeated infusions. Luckily, the children being treated at The Gold Fields Paediatric Haematology and Oncology Out-Patient Unit at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital, in Soweto, don’t have to endure such a traumatic and painful procedure anymore, thanks to Abela Africa Medical and ICU Medical as they recently donated a VeinViewer Flex machine to the unit. What is the VeinViewer Flex? VeinViewer Flex is a highly portable vascular access imaging device that can help find the optimal venipuncture…
Professional rower, Lawrence Brittain, not only beat his way to a silver medal at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, in the Men’s Coxless Pair with Shaun Keeling, but most importantly, he also beat cancer. He shares his twofold victory with us. Lawrence Brittian (25) stays in Pretoria and is currently studying BCom Marketing at the University of Pretoria. Lawrence couldn’t wait to start high school at Parktown Boys’ High School for one reason only – to start rowing. “My dad had been in the national team and my older brother was rowing, so I couldn’t wait to get started,” Lawrence…
September is International Childhood Cancer Awareness Month September is the gold ribbon month – marked as Childhood Cancer Awareness Month; this is a time where globally, countries honour and remember children and families affected by this rare disease, and help rally awareness on the early warning signs of childhood cancer. CHOC Childhood Cancer foundation SA is encouraging all South Africans to “Go for Gold” by purchasing the gold ribbon from the online CHOC Store or nearest CHOC offices. The ribbon is to be worn throughout the month of September. This will go a long way in highlighting the disease and showing…
Treatment of prostate cancer continues to advance in leaps and bounds every year, however, according to Dr Anesh Naidoo, who practises at Netcare Blaauwberg Hospital in Cape Town, for those cases in which the cancer is still localised to the prostate itself, radical prostatectomy – in which the prostate is surgically removed – has the highest success rate of all the treatment options. “Studies have shown prostatectomy success rates of between 76% to 98% for low risk disease; 60% to 76% for moderate risk disease; and 30% to 76% for high risk disease,” Dr. Naidoo explains. There are various ways…
How did it start? How did I discover it? The question which menask me most frequently is “How did you notice it?” I don’t quite remember how it began; did I first notice the lump at the back of the right testicle, or the twinge in the right groin? The twinge was such a light pain that I didn’t bother to take a painkiller. It felt like the usual after-effects of a very light blow on the testicles. Men and boys will know what I mean… The first time that I consciously noticed the lump on the right testicle was…
Siyamthanda Hlantshwayo is a resilient, 12- yearold boy who is fighting childhood cancer. It all began in April 2014, after his 10th birthday on 6 April 2014, when his mother, Thandekile, noticed lumps on his neck. “I panicked and immediately took him to a pediatrician; afraid he had mumps,” said the mother. To her surprise she was told that he has Lymphoma Cancer; a blood cancer that occurs when cells of the immune system called lymphocytes, a type of white blood cell, grow and multiply uncontrollably. In disbelief, Thandekile visited another pediatrician for a second opinion, who referred her son…
Although campaigns against cancer are more visible for female cancers such as breast and cervical cancers, men are more commonly affected by cancer than women. This has been shown in almost all cancers except breast and female genital tract cancers. Prostate cancer and testicular cancer are usually the focus of cancer awareness campaigns in men. However, common cancers such as lung, colon, skin cancers (melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers), lymphoma, etc. affect all genders, and with male preponderance. Men also have a higher mortality rate from cancer than women. According to the SEER database, the lifetime risk of developing cancer (at any…
Most people remember Shaun Harris (33) as one of South Africa’s swimming heroes, a member of the legendary South African relay team at the All Africa Games of 2007. However, few people know that he survived testicular cancer. Here is his story full of courage and perseverance. Shaun describes himself as a positive person who had a lot of success in life. Most South Africans know him as one of the heroes of the South African swimming team. However, he was the first one to admit that it’s probably a combination of a positive outlook, happiness, early detection and excellent doctors who…