Oncology Buddies magazine

Treatment How age plays a role in your treatment

May 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

Social worker, Avril de Beer, explains the various life stages you could be in when diagnosed and how this and age plays a role in your treatment plan.

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

In your 20s At this age as a young adult, you have many goals you want to achieve. You may want to finish your studies; find a good job; become financially independent from your parents; establish a circle of friends; and form a long-term romantic relationship. Although it might feel as if your diagnosis has ended your goals,…

For the boys Second-generation antiandrogens

March 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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We learn about new treatment options for advanced prostate cancer: second-generation antiandrogens.

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

What is advanced prostate cancer (APC)? APC is diagnosed when treatments for localised prostate cancer have failed or when men present with symptoms of advanced disease. Prostate cancer (PC) initially starts to grow in the prostate and in the early stages the cancer is contained there (localised PC). If the cancer continues to grow and is left untreated, it eventually breaks out of the prostate and begins to invade the…

Skin Cancer The role of radiotherapy in skin cancer

March 31, 2023 Word for Word Media

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René Botha explains when radiotherapy is appropriate to be used as treatment for skin cancer and the types of skin cancer it can be used for.

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

The skin is the largest organ of the body and skin cancer is one of the most commonly diagnosed cancers. When skin cancers are diagnosed early, most can be cured. Skin cancers are classified according to which cell type within the skin they originate from and are divided into melanoma and non-melanoma skin cancers. The most common…

Leukaemia What is CAR T-cell therapy?

February 8, 2023 Word for Word Media

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

Dr Lucille Sarah Singh details how CAR T-cell therapy works and how it will fit in the SA healthcare system. CAR T-cell therapy is the new kid on the block in the armamentarium of immunotherapy and cell and gene-based therapy. If nothing else, the COVID pandemic has put our immune systems under the spotlight; we have a heightened awareness of the exquisite repertoire of biological responses happening in our bodies on a daily basis to clear foreign invaders. These foreign invaders can be viruses and bacteria, but did you…

Treatment Implanted materials and radiotherapy – what is safe?

February 8, 2023 Word for Word Media

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

René Botha explains the impact that implanted materials have on radiotherapy treatment. Radiotherapy is a treatment modality used to treat various malignancies throughout the body. Treatment courses generally range from one to 10 days for palliative treatments to five to seven weeks for cases treated with curative intent. Delivery of contemporary radiotherapy involves personalised planning using sophisticated computer software that takes into account the various densities of different tissues. Implanted materials, like dental restorations, orthopaedic implants, breast expanders and medical devices, all need to be carefully…

In the Spotlight Lenalidomide added to the Essential Medicines List

February 8, 2023 Word for Word Media

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

The Cancer Alliance and multiple myeloma patients are celebrating the win of lenalidomide finally included on the Essential Medicines List for the public sector. The Cancer Alliance launched its Access to Medicine campaign on World Cancer Day, 4 February 2018, after the landmark report Exploring Patent Barriers to Cancer Treatment Access in South Africa: 24 Medicine Case Studies was published in 2017. From the 24 medicines, a list of eight medicines were selected as a dedicated focus for equitable access. Lenalidomide was one of the…

Treatment Immunotherapy pseudo progression

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Can your tumour get bigger before it gets smaller during treatment? Dr Ronwyn van Eeden explains the pseudo progression phenomenon. Immunotherapy has revolutionised cancer treatment over the past few years by leading to significant overall survival benefits in patients with advanced cancer. Immunotherapy works by activating the body’s own immune system to fight cancer. Unlike conventional therapies, such as chemotherapy, that cause shrinkage of tumours or cancer cells, because of the unique way in which immunotherapy works it can cause a different or atypical kind of response in cancer cells. Pseudo progression is one of these atypical responses. The exact mechanism by which it…

Treatment Drug safety in the home

March 28, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Oncology pharmacist, Lailaa Cajee, helps us understand the importance of drug safety in the home. The development of numerous oral chemotherapy drugs (OCDs) has led to a new paradigm in cancer treatment. In 1995, there were only six oral chemotherapy drugs. This number grew to a whopping 90 in 2018. It’s estimated that more than 25% of the 400 cancer drugs in the pipeline are oral. Whilst these medications are convenient and allow flexibility, they are not without complications or risks. How and where you store your OCDs affects how well the drug works. Drug safety in the home is crucial for the…

For the boys PSMA therapy in metastatic prostate cancer

February 5, 2021 Word for Word Media

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Dr Lizette Louw informs us how PSMA therapy is a rapidly evolving area for metastatic prostate cancer treatment. What is nuclear medicine? Nuclear medicine is a specialised area consisting of two arms: nuclear imaging which uses small amounts of gamma radiation to examine organ function, and nuclear therapy using alpha or beta particles. In nuclear imaging, a radioactive atom is linked to specific molecules to guide imaging of specific organ systems. Similarly for nuclear therapy, a therapeutic radioactive atom is linked to various specific molecules which is absorbed by the tumour cells and the radiation is deposited within the…

Treatment Chemo side effects – don’t suffer in silence

November 30, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Many patients undergoing chemotherapy suffer side effects in silence. Dr Sarita Retief explains that this isn’t how it should be and implores patients to voice their chemo side effects. When seeing patients for their second chemotherapy session, I naturally ask them how the first session was to see if they had any chemo side effects. These are examples of the extreme different responses that I get: Mrs A will say that she did not feel anything at all. She went on with her normal life as if nothing happened. She even wonders if the Sister might have forgotten to…

Treatment What happens after cancer treatment?

September 29, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Dr Sarita Retief talks us through some of the emotions you will feel after cancer treatment. When you have cancer therapy (chemotherapy, radiotherapy and surgery), at some stage it might feel that it will never end. Then suddenly, you have reached the end of your treatment. That great day, you’ve anticipated for months, have arrived. All your friends and family celebrate with you. Though, for some strange reason, it’s not all just joy, but a strange, eerie feeling is also there, a ‘So, what happens now?’ feeling. You are not alone. Everybody who undergoes treatment feels like that. While…

Prostate Cancer What is robotic surgery?

September 28, 2020 Word for Word Media

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Dr Hugo Van Der Merwe simplifies the process of robotic surgery for our understanding. Robotic surgery is an enabling technology that allows a surgeon to perform more patient-friendly surgery. Currently there is only one commercially available robotic system called the Da Vinci Robotic System. How does it work? Basically, the surgeon will make (4 – 6) small incisions into the abdomen of the patient. Small ports are then placed through these incisions into the abdominal cavity. The surgeon will then connect, or dock, the robot onto these small ports. Fully-wristed instruments and a high-definition 3D camera are then introduced…