Brain Cancer Archives

April 1, 2026 Word for Word Media

Dr Mia Hugo unpacks glioblastoma, the most common and aggressive form of primary brain cancers.

A lightning strike of a diagnosis GBMs can occur at any age, but most commonly in adults over the age of 65. The majority of glioblastoma patients have no family history or identifiable risk factors. Some genetic syndromes like Li-Fraumeni syndrome may predispose patients to GBM (<1% of GBMs). Very rarely exposure to ionizing radiation as a result of radiation for childhood brain tumours or leukaemia may also be a risk factor for high-grade gliomas.² The COSMOS epidemiological study showed no association…

Brain Cancer Siré Oosthuizen – Perfectly fine

April 1, 2026 Word for Word Media

#SpreadTheHope

Siré Oosthuizen radiates joy and an uplifting lightness as she explains why she felt perfectly fine when diagnosed with Stage 3 astrocytoma brain cancer.

Siré Oosthuizen (29) lives in Alberton, Gauteng with her husband. The majority of Siré’s primary school years, she suffered with migraines, so she would always have a migraine kit with her to manage them. Thankfully, the migraines stopped during high school. It was in her first year of varsity that she started getting headaches again. At first, she thought it was due to studying and the strain on her eyes, so she went…

Brain Cancer Unveiling the invisible scalpel: Gamma Knife surgery

June 2, 2024 Word for Word Media

#SpreadTheHope

Dr Sylvia Rodrigues explores the power of Gamma Knife stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) and why it’s becoming an increasingly preferred choice for patients with various brain conditions.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Gamma Knife SRS is a cutting-edge medical procedure that offers precise, non-invasive treatment for various brain conditions. Despite its name, it doesn’t involve actual surgery; instead, it utilises highly-focused radiation beams to target specific areas of the brain with remarkable accuracy. The first Gamma Knife was developed, in 1967, by Lars Leksell, a Swedish…

Brain Cancer Dylan-Jay Vankeirsbilck: My first-ever operation

June 2, 2024 Word for Word Media

#SpreadTheHope

In honour of International Cancer Survivors Day, Dylan-Jay Vankeirsbilck shares his experience of his first-ever operation, a full neck dissection, that eventually led to an oesophageal cancer diagnosis.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Dylan-Jay Vankeirsbilck (34) lives in East London. In March 2022, while at work Dylan-Jay noticed a little lump on the right side of his neck. Thinking it could just be an enlarged lymph node and because it wasn’t painful, he didn’t think too much of it though his girlfriend, Natasha, was concerned….

Brain Cancer Bronwen Watson – Emotionally I felt out of character

April 1, 2024 Word for Word Media

#SpreadTheHope

Bronwen Watson shares the lead-up and after-effects of having a craniotomy to remove a brain tumour.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Bronwen Watson (42) lives in Centurion, Gauteng with her fur babies. Last year February, I awoke feeling strange. My vision was odd, and I felt a wave of nausea. As I stood up, my world started to move and I instantly fell to the floor. I put it down to overexertion from moving from JHB to Pretoria and work commitments. A few weeks later, I had…

Brain Cancer Primary brain tumours

March 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

#SpreadTheHope

Dr Daleen Geldenhuys educates us on how primary brain tumours are diagnosed and treated.

You can listen to this article below, or by using your favourite podcast player at pod.link/oncologybuddies

Tumours of the central nervous system are divided into distinct groups and varies in presentation and prognosis. There are benign and malignant tumours affecting the brain. Malignant tumours of the brain can be subdivided into primary tumours that start in the brain versus secondary tumours that have metastasised from other primary cancers, such as lung, colon, breast and others. Some of the symptoms and signs of both primary…

Brain Cancer Targeting brain tumours

May 30, 2019 Word for Word Media

#SpreadTheHope

Dr Nirasha Chiranjan informs us about the new developments in radiotherapy in the treatment of brain tumours. Radiotherapy can prolong survival in most malignant brain tumours and may be curative in others. In the setting of benign and malignant brain tumours, radiotherapy may be used solely; may be used before or after surgery; and may be used concurrently with chemotherapy. Radiation works at a cellular level to damage the DNA of cancer cells thereby preventing cell division and inducing death of these cells1. The duration may vary from a single treatment to daily treatment for six weeks. Radiotherapy has evolved…

Brain Cancer Honeymoon tumour

June 5, 2017 Word for Word Media

#SpreadTheHope

When you meet Dewald and Tina Botes, their love and care for each other is so evident and tangible. A couple’s love would need to be deep and rock solid to survive the shocking diagnosis of a frontal lobe brain tumour. We hear their astounding story.

Dewald Botes (55) lives in Lonehill, JHB with his wife, Tina. They have four children: Heinrich (Dewald’s son) and Charissa, Tianè and Juri (Tina’s children). After getting a second chance at love, and two and a half years of dating, Dewald and Tina made their commitment official by getting married. Nine months…