June-July 2022 Archives

Cancer Care Meet the faces behind the CANSA Help Desk

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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…

Patient Stories Genevivé Roxmouth – Crown of glory

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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With the most magnificent and longest red hair, Genevivé Roxmouth shares her story of finding her crown of glory once diagnosed with synovial sarcoma.

Genevivé Roxmouth (34) lives in Krugersdorp, Gauteng with her second husband, Harry, and her son, Hendrik (12). Diagnosed at 24 In 2012, Genevivé started losing weight and had a cough. “Having a little child, you try and keep the medical aid for them. So, I medicated myself at home by taking cough syrup for about three months, but it didn’t help. I also started getting out of breath. Then one Saturday I coughed up blood….

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…

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…

Side Effects Management of bodily fluids during chemotherapy

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Lailaa Cajee offers simple safety measures to be incorporated into your daily life to safeguard those around you when managing bodily fluids during chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is a drug that destroys cancer cells but if it comes into contact with someone who doesn’t have cancer, it can be harmful to their healthy cells. Chemotherapy leaves the body through fluids, such as urine, stool, vomit, sweat, saliva, semen and vaginal fluids. It’s still present in your system for up to seven days after IV treatment, and if you’re taking oral chemotherapy tablets then its present for the entire duration of that treatment….

Emotional Care Anticipatory grief – to grieve before the end

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Dr Nelia Drenth helps us navigate the hard path of anticipatory grief. The diagnosis of a life-limiting illness is enough to make most of us shiver with fear and anxiety due to the unknown that is awaiting us. As the illness progresses, we may experience times of hopefulness and hopelessness. Anticipatory grief can be experienced by both the person at the end of life and his or her loved ones. I believe that the grief we experience in the terminal phase of life, also known as anticipatory grief, helps us to prepare for the end of life psychologically, emotionally, and spiritually. Defining anticipatory grief Anticipatory grief…

Emotional Care Preparing children and teenagers for the death of a parent

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Ilana Kilian, a social worker, explains that preparing children and teenagers for a death of a parent is a process of honesty where everyone is actively involved. Though we know it’s an inevitable part of life, talking about death is something most of us aren’t really good at because the subject is so painful. It’s even harder for us to discuss and deal with this topic when there are children or teenagers involved. Part of the journey is finding ways to express what’s happening to make sense of what’s happened, and finally, to accept what has happened. Children and teenagers need to be fully…

Girl Talk Ovarian cysts

June 1, 2022 Word for Word Media

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Dr Sumayya Ebrahim explains why women get ovarian cysts, how are they treated and if they can become cancerous.

Almost all genetic females will have two ovaries that form part of the internal reproductive organs. Each is situated lower down in the pelvic region of the body. The function of the ovaries is to produce hormones like oestrogen, progesterone and testosterone. Ovaries are also responsible for storing all our eggs, from the time of birth until none are left at menopause. It’s within each ovary that the cyclical process of ovulation takes place. An ovarian cyst is…

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…