Cancer Care | oncology buddies your guide to cancer care

Cancer Care Preparing your child for treatment or surgery

July 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

Fiona Hardie explains the benefits of breathwork when preparing your child for treatment or surgery.

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

Witnessing a child go through illness and surgery is traumatic and heart-breaking. As parents, you feel powerless, helpless and terrified but try hard to remain stoic and brave in front of them. Imagine their sense of overwhelming fear. How often have you heard someone say “Just breathe” when you’re stressed? There is, however, help in the form of the breath, and it can assist not only your precious child but you too….

Cancer Care Why fevers should be taken seriously in cancer patients

May 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Dr Sarita Retief explains why fevers are emergencies in cancer patients and explains the four probable causes.

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

Fevers are a common and worrisome symptom in cancer patients. Causes can broadly be divided in four categories: Infections during immune suppression after chemotherapy. Other incidental infections. Paraneoplastic fever. Treatment-related fever. A fever is an emergency As an oncologist in training, one of the first lessons you learn, is that fever in an oncology patient, most of the times, constitutes an emergency. This is especially true if the patient had chemotherapy within…

Cancer Care Delirium in cancer care

March 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Dr Kerry-Ann Louw expands on why a cancer patient may experience delirium, the causes, treatment and prevention thereof.

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

Delirium is a syndrome of brain dysfunction which presents with sudden onset of disturbance of awareness, attention, and cognitive function. Delirium is the most common neuropsychiatric complication we see in patients with cancer. The prevalence rate of delirium is up to 30% on hospital admission and up to 85% in the terminal phase of illness. Delirium is often missed because it has a fluctuating…

Cancer Care The seven types of rest

November 29, 2022 Word for Word Media

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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 to do the things we really want to do. How do we solve this problem? Getting more sleep is not the answer. We think we should be well-rested because we sleep eight hours every night but sleep and rest are not the same thing. According…

Cancer Care The CANSA Pain Manager App

October 11, 2022 Word for Word Media

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We learn more about the free CANSA Pain Manager App, brought to you by The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA), in association with the Centre of Community Technology at Nelson Mandela University (CCT), sponsored by Pfizer.

Unfortunately, unnecessary pain is often experienced by patients during their cancer journey. Through the app, CANSA aims to help close the care gap for patients and caregivers with information to cope better with challenges linked to pain, lower stress levels, and help them take charge of their lives while facing cancer. COVID-19…

Cancer Care The importance of follow-up care after cancer therapy

October 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Dr Ria David details why follow-up care after cancer treatment is of utmost importance. The term cancer survivor refers to any person who has been diagnosed with cancer. Survivorship encompasses the period from diagnosis, through active treatment, chronic or intermittent disease to cure or end-of-life care. In the period following active treatment of a cancer, follow-up and regular monitoring is important to detect several complications: Disease recurrence. Development of short- and long-term physical complications of the previous cancer and its treatment. For example, lymphoedema, cardiovascular disease, chronic fatigue and sexual dysfunction. Detection of other chronic illnesses in an aging population. Surveillance for psychological effects…

Cancer Care Tips for managing school or university during treatment

July 29, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Avril de Beer shares tips for both parent and child for managing school or university during treatment. Teenagers and young adults have left childhood behind, but they are not fully matured adults. At this stage of their lives, they are striving for autonomy from their parents while making plans for their future. Being diagnosed with cancer is an overwhelming experience; it may feel as if your entire world has been turned upside down. Continuing with schoolwork or university studies can help keep a sense of normalcy during this gruelling time. Taking action: obtaining a treatment plan First things first, discuss your teenager or young adult’s diagnosis and treatment plan with the treating physician who will be able to provide you…

Cancer Care Meet the faces behind the CANSA Help Desk

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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We learn more about how the CANSA Help Desk works and the people who run it. About the CANSA Help Desk Approximately 12 000 queries per year are received across all CANSA platforms. The Help Desk function covers emails received, comments on the website, queries via national and regional Facebook pages and via their three Facebook Support Groups (for patients, caregivers and parents of children with cancer), Twitter and Instagram, and also via their English and Afrikaans WhatsApp line and their African languages WhatsApp line (isiXhosa, isiZulu, siSwati, Sesotho and Setswana).

CANSA Help Desk Manager…

Cancer Care Hospital at Home

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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We hear how Reona Naidoo (32) recovered in the comfort of her own home with Discovery Health Medical Scheme’s (DHMS) new Hospital at Home programme. Ever since Reona Naidoo had her spleen and a kidney removed in 2019, she’s been prone to picking up infections and being hospitalised. Luckily, with DHMS new Hospital at Home programme, Reona has this year been able to receive high-quality medical care in the comfort of her own home and avoid extended hospital stays. Hospital at Home offers 24/7 treatment and monitoring (both in-person and virtual) by a dedicated care team. In fact, Reona was one of the first…

Cancer Care The South African Society of Stomates

May 26, 2022 Word for Word Media

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We learn more about The South African Society of Stomates (SASS) and how they are building the community of ostomates (people who’ve had an ostomy, a surgical operation to create an opening in the body for the discharge of body wastes). Who is SASS? The South African Society of Stomates (SASS) is a non-profit organisation formed by ostomates across Southern Africa to facilitate a holistic approach to ostomy patient care by bridging the gap between the private and public sectors whilst advocating for the rights of fellow ostomates throughout the country. SASS aims to advocate and align the standard of…

Cancer Care The language of cancer

March 24, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Social worker, Avril de Beer, expands on how language (words and metaphors) can inspire or disempower cancer patients. “When I use a word,” Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone, “it means just what I choose it to mean – neither more nor less.” “The question is,” said Alice, “whether you can make words mean so many different things.” (Lewis Carroll, Through the Looking Glass) Military metaphors like battle or war Many people use words or metaphors to express their own individual experience of a cancer diagnosis and treatment. According to Dr Michelle Riba, director of the PsychOncology Program at…

Cancer Care Helping patients live with and not for their cancer

October 1, 2021 Word for Word Media

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Dr Prinitha Pillay suggests necessary tools to help reframe the new reality that allows cancer patients to live life, not just survive it. Life with cancer is a journey with twists, turns and challenges. Everyone walking this path has a unique experience depending on their type of cancer, diagnosis stage, support network, and outlook on life. When a disease like cancer threatens us, the will to live becomes a driving force within us. Some harness this force more strongly than others, while others find their path isn’t that easy. Some patients are just trying to get through the day while making the best…