Patient Stories | Oncology Buddies your guide to cancer care

September 29, 2023 Word for Word Media

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. Since finishing treatment for colon cancer in 2015, Paula continued with her life and that included playing hockey. In March 2020, she was chosen for the 60-year age group (A squad) to represent SA at the World Masters Hockey World Cup…

Patient Stories Arlene Sanford – I’ve always had chutzpah

September 29, 2023 Word for Word Media

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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 she couldn’t eat. “Everything was getting stuck, so I went to our GP and he sent me for an ultrasound. After that I was sent for a colonoscopy (an exam to look for changes in the large intestine and rectum) which was clear,…

Cervical Cancer Caryl Pienaar – No tears, no anger, no pity

July 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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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 started spotting and visited my gynae. He performed a hysteroscopy (procedure that visualises the inside of uterus), the results showed nothing too concerning. A month later I experienced more spotting, so I went back. I figured that at 53, I definitely wasn’t going to start a family and asked him to…

Patient Stories Lucy Nkosi – Celebrating life amidst the shadows of despair

July 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Lucy Nkosi poetically details how she and her family are dealing with her mother’s recurrence of leiomyosarcoma.

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

Lucy Nkosi (32) and her mother, Philisiwe Nkosi (61) lives in Soweto, Gauteng. I sit in the waiting room, anxiously thinking about my mother’s upcoming birthday. As tears build up, memories rush through my mind, sending me back to her joyful celebration a year ago, a dramatic contrastto the present occasion, clouded by the recurrence of leiomyosarcoma. We gathered in a beautifully decorated room, waiting to receive our guest of honour. My mother entered…

Childhood Cancer Karabo Nstiane – Thriving toddler

July 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Kegomoditswe Nstiane shares the journey of her daughter, Karabo, who was diagnosed with hepatoblastoma at four months, and how she is now an energetic three-year-old who is thriving.

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

Karabo Nstiane (3) lives in Krugersdorp, Gauteng with her parents, Kegomoditswe Nstiane and Herbert Matlhole, and her older brother, Koketso. Swollen tummy When Karabo was four months old, her mother, Kegomoditswe, noticed her tummy was swollen. “I thought it was from the formula I was giving her as I was mix-feeding her with breast milk and formula. I took her to the…

Breast Cancer Norberto and Ana Costa – A true give and take

May 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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We hear how married couple, Norberto and Ana Costa, faced three cancer diagnoses without medical aid, with their love and sense of humour carrying them through.

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

Norberto (65) and Ana Costa (59) live in Edenvale, Gauteng. They have two sons and one grandson. They have been married for 41 years. When Norberto and Ana moved to South Africa in 1994, they were on a medical aid. However due to the medical aid refusing to pay for Ana’s tubal ligation (fallopian tubes are cut to permanently prevent pregnancy), stating it was…

Oncology Man Dirk Human – Open and upfront

May 19, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Once Dirk Human was diagnosed with prostate cancer, he learnt quickly how imperative it was to share what he was feeling with his family for them to better understand his experience.

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

Dirk Wynand Human (51) lives in Pretoria, Gauteng with Angela-Lee, his wife, of 28 years. They have a 25-year-old daughter, Marilee. In January 2022 Dirk consulted his GP as he had chest pains which turned out to be stress related. Due to Dirk doing a full blood test a while back, the GP suggested…

Head and Neck Cancer Jocelyn Moodley – My miracle surgery

March 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Jocelyn Moodley tells us about her miracle surgery after being diagnosed with salivary gland adenoid cystic carcinoma and how living was far more important than her facial appearance.

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

Jocelyn Moodley (50) lives in Alberton, Gauteng with her husband. They have three adult children. Bump on palate In November 2005, Jocelyn felt a slight bump on her palate. When she went to a GP, he couldn’t see it, so he referred her to a dentist as he thought it was overgrowth of wisdom teeth….

Patient Stories Allen Rizzi – The long tunnel

March 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Prostate cancer survivor, Allen Rizzi, has written a book to help newly diagnosed men prepare for treatment. He tells us more.

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Allen Rizzi (74) lives in North Carolina, USA and Northern Italy with his wife. As I was cruising down life’s highway, I always felt pretty good about my health, often taking it for granted. I had been a professional surfer in my younger years and an outdoorsman and traveller all of my life, always eating well and exercising regularly. For the…

Bile Duct Cancer Nicole Coppin – Six years’ cancer-free

February 8, 2023 Word for Word Media

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Single mother, Nicole Coppin, shares her story of having periampullary adenocarcinoma (a bile and pancreatic duct cancer). What is periampullary carcinoma? Periampullary carcinoma is a broad term used to define the group of carcinomas arising from the head of the pancreas, the distal common bile duct, and the first part of the small intestine. Nicole Coppin (46) lives in Edenvale, Gauteng with her 14-year-old son, Joey. In March 2016, it was found that Nicole had a tumour around her bile and pancreatic duct; this was after…

Kidney Cancer Riaan Baatjies – I belong here and now

February 8, 2023 Word for Word Media

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When Riaan Baatjies got his warrior-themed tattoo, in 2016, little did he know that for the rest of his life he would be a warrior, facing Stage 4 kidney cancer. He shares how he grappled with mortality but most of all is striving to be a better version of himself. Riaan Baatjies (47) lives in Discovery, Gauteng with his wife, Joselyn, and two children, aged 23 and 18. In October 2017, Riaan was at work when he used the bathroom and urinated blood. “It wasn’t sore…

Of the rare kind Wilma Newhoudt-Druchen – Few and far between

November 29, 2022 Word for Word Media

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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 new spectacles for two years so this year she decided to go. “The optometrist struggled to find a reading for my right eye but told me to choose a spectacle frame while he tested my husband. He tested my eyes again but still struggled to…