Patient Stories Archives

Colon Cancer Lerato Monyatsi – Summiting the mountain called colon cancer

February 8, 2021 Word for Word Media

Vibrant Lerato Monyatsi shares how she is climbing her way to victory over colon cancer. Lerato Monyatsi (39) lives in Kagiso, Krugersdorp, Gauteng with her 11-year-old son, Aobakwe. Misdiagnosis Being an extremely active, nature loving, backpacking hiker and supermom, never did Lerato, a single mother, think she would be faced with the big C. “It was around December 2019 when I first encountered discomfort in my abdomen. I was bloated and constipated so I went to see a doctor. I was prescribed medication to flush all the waste out and the doctor concluded that I had haemorrhoids and medicated as such,” she says. …

Lung Cancer Liezl Nell – Keeping life sweet

November 30, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Metastatic lung cancer patient, Liezl Nell, shares how baking during lockdown transformed into an online bakery that in turn raised funds to cover some of the co-payments of her treatment. Liezl Nell (31) lives in Randburg, Gauteng with her two older sisters, Louw-Mari and Bernadette. An active life was what Liezl lived. She played several club sports, like tennis and hockey, and was at the gym at least once a day. So, when she experienced pain above her left rib and shoulder, in Oct 2019, she thought it was a muscle that she had pulled. Two weeks went by…

Childhood Cancer Warrior Josh

September 29, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Warrior Josh Twelve operations, over 100 days in hospital, 14 months of chemotherapy and 60 days of radiation, Warrior Josh comes out stronger and braver as ever. Joshua Sole (11) lives in Randpark Ridge, Gauteng with his parents, Mike and Lara, and his older sister, Courtney (13). Embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma It was Lara’s intuition and maternal instinct that noticed something was wrong with Josh. “He had played two hours of rugby and that night I noticed he went to the bathroom three times. This wasn’t normal for him. I took him to the homeopath the next day, thinking it could be…

Patient Stories Belinda Wagner: determined as ever

July 29, 2020 Word for Word Media

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We hear how Belinda Wagner, a life coach, facilitator, lecturer and marketing consultant, ensured her diagnosis of angiosarcoma would not take control of her life. Belinda Wagner (48) lives in Fourways, Gauteng. She is married with two daughters, aged 18 and 14. Diagnosis It took six months for doctors to diagnose Belinda with angiosarcoma. It started in July 2016 when Belinda got bronchitis. In August, she started coughing up blood, had an overall feeling of not being well, and had abdominal pain. Medication was prescribed for her chest and coughing which was followed by an array of tests, until a CT scan, in November, showed…

Hodgkin Lymphoma Xolani Hlongwane – Embracing change

June 1, 2020 Word for Word Media

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From being a successful group HR administrator to now working as a donor recruiter and education specialist at The Sunflower Fund, Xolani Hlongwane tells us how his life changed after surviving Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Xolani Hlongwane (36) lives in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal with his partner of two years. Growing up in the township of Lamontville, Xolani is the eldest of four children. He became the first person in his family to attend university; an achievement his parents are extremely proud of. Xolani paid for his education by waiting on tables and completed it by sheer determination, not only to make a success of himself but…

Head and Neck Cancer Andrew Hunter – I still have a voice

March 20, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Andrew Hunter tells us about life after a laryngectomy: how he learnt to communicate with a tracheoesophageal voice prosthesis and recently via oesophageal speech. Andrew Hunter (59) lives in Soweto, Gauteng. He is divorced and has two adult children. Diagnosis In 2012, Andrew who had been smoking for over 20 years and drank occasionally on weekends, started to develop flu-like symptoms. His voice became croaky and deterioratedand his throat was dry and painful. He went to see a doctor who referred him to Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. After numerous tests, including a biopsy, Andrew was diagnosed with cancer of the…

Melanoma Naniki Seboni – Brown skin girl

February 3, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Naniki Seboni tells us how she was teased at school for ‘wanting to be like a white girl’ because she used sunscreen and how at the age of 24, she was diagnosed with Stage 3 malignant melanoma. Naniki Seboni (29) lives in Soweto, Gauteng. Ailments as a child Naniki sufferred severe nose bleeds as a child. “We never knew what that was all about. My parents just took it as my sinuses as normally it would happen just before I got flu. But then it happened more frequently and had nothing to do with the flu,” Naniki explains. Eventually, a doctor…

Patient Stories On top of the world – Lance Bainbridge

November 27, 2019 Word for Word Media

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Lance Bainbridge tells us about the gifts that stomach cancer gave him and how he rediscovered his passion for surfing and playing guitar after he beat it. Lance Bainbridge (51) lives in Westville, KwaZulu-Natal with his wife, Jane, and their four children, Luke (20), Peter and Philip (17), and Rebecca (10). Not many people will associate cancer as a giving disease, yet Lance feels that his cancer has given him many gifts. He says, “My faith in God has always been a big part of my life since I first became a Christian as a teenager. However, when I…

Patient Stories In this together – Cameron Martin

September 30, 2019 Word for Word Media

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Sixteen-year-old Cameron Martin shares how his family and friends have helped him adjust since he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma. Cameron Martin (16) lives in Weltevredenpark, Gauteng with his parents, Roger and Samantha, and his younger sister, Caitlyn. When meeting the polite teenager, one would never think he has just undergone major surgery and cancer treatment. His relaxed and level-headed attitude is supreme. Diagnosis in 2018 Being an avid sportsman, playing cricket, hockey and at times athletics, Cameron automatically assumed his sore knee (right) was a sports injury. He went for physiotherapy but the ‘injury’ kept on recurring. With Cameron’s…

Lung Cancer Going strong – Mahendra Modi

September 30, 2019 Word for Word Media

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We catch up with lung cancer patient, Mahendra Modi (79), who was on our Nov/Dec cover, in 2016, and hear how well he is doing on osimertinib (Tagrisso), an oral medication. Mahendra Modi (79) lives in Mulbarton, Gauteng with his wife. He has three children and seven grandchildren. Background Mahendra was diagnosed, in 2014, with Stage 4 lung cancer associated with an EGFR mutation. This type of lung cancer is not related to cigarette smoking but is driven by a mutation (changing of the structure of a gene), called an EGRF mutation. Due to the stage of Mahendra’s cancer, surgery was not an…

Patient Stories My Diya and Stitch – Pragashnee Pillay

July 29, 2019 Word for Word Media

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Pragashnee Pillay shares how getting a dog for her daughter, Diya, helped both her and her daughter cope with her cancer diagnoses and treatments. Pragashnee Pillay (35) lives in Tongaat, Kwa-Zulu Natal with her husband, Terence, and their five-year-old daughter, Diya, and their pet Jack Russell, Stitch. Thyroid cancer A month before Pragashnee was diagnosed with thyroid cancer, in April 2017, her daughter, Diya, asked for a baby brother. Unfortunately, that was not on the cards as Pragashnee hadn’t been feeling well for some time. “I told her that I am currently unwell and will not be able to…

Cervical Cancer The birth of twins and Amara Grace

July 29, 2019 Word for Word Media

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Mother of twin boys, Anja Berkowitz, shares how her battle with cervical cancer while pregnant ultimately birthed her new business, Amara Grace. Anja Berkowitz (35) lives in Fourways, Gauteng with her husband, Jordan, and their twin sons, David and Noah (3). Cervical cancer and choices In September 2015, about a year and a half into fertility treatment, Anja fell pregnant. Jordan and Anja were thrilled to be expecting twin boys. Their life-long dream was becoming a reality. Three months into the pregnancy, Anja experienced complications, including bleeding. After changing doctors in January 2016, the expectant mother was told she had cervical…