GVI is hosting a Southern Suburbs Survivors’ Day this year. (There will be a separate event in the Northern Suburbs at the end of August- date to follow shortly).  We’d really like to see you there but because our space is limited, you have to reserve and collect a ticket before the event itself.

GVI is hosting Survivors’ Day events throughout the country this year.   We’d really like to see you there but because our space is limited, you have to reserve and collect a ticket before the event itself.

Cape Town Northern Suburbs:

Event dates elsewhere:

Unit: Border Oncology Unit
Date: 14 August 2010
Venue: Hudson Park High School, Centenary Hall
Tel no: 043 722 1222
Contact Person: Reception

Unit: Langenhoven Drive Oncology Centre
Date: 21 August 2010
Venue: ETC Conference Centre
Tel no: 041 363 0581
Contact Person: Reception

Unit: Nelspruit Oncology Unit
Date: 28 August 2010
Venue: Nou’s Toeka Kaapsche Hoop Road
Tel no: 013 759 0800
Contact Person: Eldorette Grobler

Unit: Outeniqua Oncology Unit
Date: 21 August 2010
Venue: Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University Saasveld Hall
Tel no: 044 884 0705
Contact Person: Ruan van Aswegen

Unit: Panorama Oncology Centre
Date: 21 August 2010
Venue: Durbanville Voorbereidingsskool
Tel no: 021 930 4245
Contact Person: Charmaine de Wet

Unit: Southern Suburbs Oncology Centre
Date: 31 July 2010
Venue: Western Province Cricket Club
Tel no: 086 199 9914
Contact Person: Samantha Peacock

A big thank you must also go to Justin Hartman from Afrigator (http://afrigator.com/) for connecting all the parties. In an act of kindness and generosity, Core Gaming (which represents Nintendo in South Africa) has donated six Nintendo DS Lite handheld consoles, as well as accompanying copies of Professor Layton and the Curious Village, to the haematology ward of South Africa’s Groote Schuur Hospital in an effort to help chemotherapy patients there pass the time with some interactive entertainment.

Patients in the ward undergoing chemotherapy and receiving bone marrow transplants spend an average of six weeks in an isolation room to prevent infection, with little to do to pass the time other than watch television.

In addition, these patients are usually from out of town, which means that visits from friends and family during the six week isolation period can be infrequent, and as a result of this isolation and lack of mental stimulation, patients can rapidly find themselves becoming depressed.

Enter Eldré Strydom, MD of the non-profit organisation People Living With Cancer, who together with social worker Nomalizo Sineke, began to search for a solution to this serious problem of patient depression – a search that led to Core Gaming, which offered to supply the haematology ward with products from Nintendo that have been able to successfully entertain millions of people worldwide.

General Manager of Core Gaming Matthew Grose said of the donation:

“When we heard about the plight of the patients in Groote Schuur’s Haematology ward, we immediately thought of the Nintendo DS Lite game, Professor Layton and the Curious Village, which is guaranteed to keep players entertained for hours at a time.

“We have decided to donate six Nintendo DS Lite consoles, along with the game to the hospital – a console for each isolation room within the ward – so there will always be something fun and stimulating for the patients to do,” he said.

Eldré Strydom is also excited over the prospect of the games helping patients on their road to recovery by keeping their minds busy:

“We are thrilled to be able to hand over the Nintendo DS Lites and games to the Groote Schuur Haemotology ward because we know they will provide such welcome relief to patients.

“I also believe that by giving the patients something with which to pass the time, these games could greatly improve their cancer journey in terms of their mental alertness, psychological wellbeing and the ability to stay positive.”

If you want to know about the condition treated at the haematology ward at the hospital, Dr. Andrew McDonald, Consultant Clinical Heamatologist at Groote Schuur Hospital and UCTPAH and Chairman of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Committee of South African Haemophilia Foundation, explains the unique treatment process for Acute Leukaemia used at Groote Schuur Hospital:

“Acute Leukaemia is one of the most common cancers affecting young children and adults, and, with intensive chemotherapy, and bone marrow transplant, can be cured. Many centers in South Africa are treating children and adults with chemotherapy, but Groote Schuur Hospital is the only state hospital in the country that has a fully-fledged and active bone marrow transplant program.

“Many patients are referred to us from hospitals in other cities for this procedure, and are thus away from home for a long period, sometimes with few support structures.

“Bone marrow transplant is a procedure that involves high dose chemotherapy (and sometimes radiotherapy) and subsequent infusion of the stem cells harvested either from the patients themselves (prior to this procedure), a brother or sister, or unrelated donor.

“Whilst it is not an operation, people may become very ill; for many however, they are relatively well for long periods, but need to remain in isolation. Thus we welcome any intervention that improves the quality of life of our patients in hospital, and mental stimulation is essential in this regard. We believe this will greatly enhance the overall quality of care that we are able to give to our patients.”http://www.el33tonline.com/past/2010/4/20/ds_lites_and_professor_layton/

To see more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nBzV14_DzN0

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MuFup5hRLSo

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QvhMb7xjcoI

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Ok3WEHWnYk

Ilse-Mari Hanekom hiking in the Drakensberg

Big brother cancer survivor takes on the boys, as they attempt to conquer the highest peak in Africa

Issued by Matrix Advertising & Communications 

She was, is and will always be the ultimate survivor! (or is it housemate?) Ilse-Mari Hanekom known for her Big Brother South Africa fame, was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma in February 2008.

Her diagnosis was only two weeks after she got engaged.  With the support of her family, friends, fiancé, her religion and her high spirits, she endured the side effects of her chemotherapy and has been in remission since June 2008.

She displays a passion for hiking in the Drakensberg and Lesotho mountain ranges. This has made her a perfect candidate for a Lymphoma awareness raising climb to the top of Africa.

Around 360 000 new cases of Lymphoma are diagnosed globally each year.

Awareness of Lymphoma, a cancer of the Lymphatic system which damages the body’s immune system, is very low in South Africa and because symptoms are very similar to other illnesses such as flu can often be misdiagnosed.

The causes are unknown but the most common early symptoms of Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is:

• Painless swelling of the lymph nodes, usually in the neck, armpit, groin or abdomen
• Night sweats or a recurring fever.
• Tiredness and weight loss.
• Unexplained fever.
• A cough or breathlessness

Ilse-Mari will embark on this expedition of Mount Kilimanjaro, celebrating every day she is granted health, spirit and laughter, carrying a message of hope to the summit on behalf of other Lymphoma survivors.

She will be climbing Kilimanjaro as a member of the Team of Hope.  The Team will be captained by Robby Kojetin, the 17th South African to summit Mount Everest.

Ilse-Mari is the only lady on the team, and she will be out to show the boys a thing or two. Claiming that she will be the first to the top!

The team has been training together, and excitement is building as they are scheduled to depart at 22h00 on Friday the 30^th of April.

The Team of Hope is a dynamic team of ordinary, yet courageous and inspirational people, who plan to climb Africa’s highest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, in an effort to raise public awareness of the symptoms of Lymphoma and the importance of early detection of this type of cancer.

The Climb will take place early May 2010 and will be captained by Robby Kojetin, (the 17th South African to summit Mount Everest). He will be captaining a team, which will include a Lymphoma survivor who will be carrying messages of hope from other Lymphoma survivors, hence Team of Hope.

To read more and follow the team:

http://www.teamofhope.co.za/teamofhope.html

The World Cancer Declaration is a call to action to substantially reduce the global cancer burden by 2020 and demanding more resources in the fight against cancer, but every additional name makes a difference. We will share the South African list of names with the UICC, as well as hand it to the South African National Department of Health in support of developing and prioritising Cancer care in South Africa. We will also keep you up to date with other PLWC campaigns.

To read more on the UICC worldwide campaign go to www.uicc.org/declaration

Wilma van der Bijl, a Breast Cancer survivor and ex-Miss South Africa supports this campaign and says: “CANCER IS THE NUMBER ONE KILLER OF OUR TIMES! I call on all South Africans to support cancer awareness! In reality cancer takes more lives than TB and HIV in the world today. PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE – early detection is what we all strive for – and all people should have the right to early screenings and treatment.”
______________________________________________________

THE WORLD CANCER DECLARATION

A call to action from the global cancer community

We the global cancer community call on governments, international governmental organizations, the international donor community, development agencies, professional organizations, the private sector and all civil society to take immediate steps to slow and ultimately reserve the growth in death from cancer, by committing to the targets set out below and providing resources and political backing for the priority actions needed to achieve them.

TARGETS
By 2020:
• Sustainable delivery systems will be in place to ensure that effective cancer control programmes are available in all countries.
• The measurement of the global cancer burden and the impact of cancer control interventions will have improved significantly.
• Global tobacco consumption, obesity and alcohol intake levels will have fallen significantly.
• Population in the areas affected by HPV and HBV will be covered by universal vaccination programmes.
• Public attitudes towards cancer will improve and damaging myths and misconceptions about the disease will be dispelled.
• Many more cancers will be diagnosed when still localized through the provision of screening and early detection programmes and high levels of public and professional awareness about important cancer warning signs.
• Access to accurate cancer diagnosis, appropriate cancer treatments, supportive care, rehabilitation services and palliative care will have improved for all patients worldwide.
• Effective pain control measures will be available universally to all cancer patients in pain.
• The number of training opportunities available for health professionals in different aspects of cancer control will have improved significantly
• Emigration of health workers with specialist training in cancer control will have reduced dramatically
• There will be major improvements in cancer survival rates in all countries.

At the World Cancer Congress in Washington DC in July 2006 the global cancer community united behind a call for urgent action to deal with the worldwide cancer crisis by launching the first World Cancer Declaration, which outlines the steps needed to begin to reserve the global cancer crisis by 2020. The declaration is a tool to help cancer advocates bring the growing cancer crisis to the attention of health policymakers at national, regional and global levels. It represents a consensus between foundations, national and international non-governmental and governmental organizations, professional bodies, the private sector, academia and civil society from all continents that are committed to the vision of eliminating cancer as a major threat for future generations. The World Cancer Declaration buildings on Charter of Paris (February 2000), which was the first effort to mobilize the global cancer community to address the growing cancer crisis worldwide.

PRIORITY ACTIONS

These targets are ambitious. During the past few years, however, there is growing evidence that concerted action can make a difference in a short time. We believe, therefore, that the targets can be achieved providing a number of priority actions are implemented.

Health policy:

• Place cancer on the development agenda. Increase the political priority given to cancer by demonstrating that a country’s investment in dealing with its growing cancer problem is an investment in the economic and social well-being of the country. Organizations concern with cancer control should work with the global donor community, development agencies, the private sector and all civil society to invest in cancer control.
• Mobilize stakeholders to ensure that strategies to control cancer globally are targeted at those who are most in need. Involve all major stakeholders groups in the development, or updating, of national cancer control policies.
• Implement strategies that have been proven to bridge existing cancer surveillance gaps.
• Increase efforts to involve cancer patients in cancer control planning at a local and national level.

Cancer prevention and early detection:

• Increase efforts to reduce tobacco consumption by encouraging governments to fully implement and enforce the FCTC.
• Raise awareness about the need for culturally sensitive cancer risk reduction campaigns, along with public professional eduction about cancer warning signs. Push governments to implement policies that will support risk-reducing strategies at a community level and enable individuals to make more informed consumption choices and adopt healthier behavior.
• Encourage governments to implement measures to reduce people’s exposure to environmental and occupational carcinogens.
• Undertake actions to ensure that vaccines and other strategies that are shown to prevent cancer-causing infections are made more widely available.
• Advocate for the provision of affordable screening programmes for which there is evidence of efficacy in the population in question. Undertake pilot projects that are designed to evaluate the feasibility and efficacy in populations in which the screening technology has not yet been tested.

Cancer treatment:

• Promote the development and use of cancer treatment guidelines that are relevant to local needs and resources. Ensure that sufficient treatment, rehabilitation and palliative care facilities and well-trained staff are available to meet the physical, social and emotional needs of patients with cancer.
• Take steps to tackle the many barriers to optimal pain control. Work with governments to address the over-regulation of pain medicines. Cooperate with international organizations, including the International Narcotics Control Board and the World Health Organization, to ensure that global implementation of the UN’s international drug control conventions do not unduly interfere with legitimate efforts to advance access to pain medicines for cancer patients in pain.
• Work with the pharmaceutical industry to increase access to cancer medicines that are affordable and of assured quality.
• Increase the number of health professionals with expertise in all aspects of cancer control by providing specialist training opportunities and fellowships to enable professionals to study in specialist settings.
• Raise awareness about the impact of health worker emigration on the ability of countries to provide adequate levels of cancer care and work collectively to address global and national health workforce shortages and the resultant deepening of inequity.

Cancer research:

• Increase investment in independent basic and applied cancer research and accelerate the translation of research findings into clinical and public health practice.
• Encourage cancer research organizations in different countries to collaborate, share data and define complementary research objectives to optimize the use of the limited funds available for cancer research and reduce duplication of effort.

PROGRESSING TOWARDS THE 2020 TARGETS

• Through its member organizations, now more than 300 in over 100 countries, the International Union against Cancer (UICC) will promote partnerships and international collaboration aimed at accelerating progress towards achieving the 2020 targets.
• Given the huge variability in cancer burden and service provision throughout the world, UICC will encourage members to use the World Cancer Declaration as a template to develop regional or national cancer declarations that can better reflect local needs and priorities and allow for more accurate quantification of targets where data exists.
• UICC will take responsibility for preparing a report every two years on the progress made towards achieving the 2020 targets. These reports will be presented at the bi-annual World Cancer Congress.

WCDFastFacts_August09[1]
World_Cancer_Declaration_08[1]

The Mobile Breast Check Units are one of the five beneficiaries from the 85^th 2010 Comrades Marathon at the end of May.

We have an opportunity to create huge awareness not only on the disease, but also for the collaborating NGO’s and we need your assistance.  Because it is the 85^th Comrades (we are looking for 85 breast cancer survivors) to:

1. Be with us when the vehicles arrive in PMB ahead of the Comrades Marathon.
2. Be with us at the Reebok Mile, which is on Cowies Hill on Comrades Day.

And because it is 2010 (we are looking for 2010 breast cancer supporters – whether male or female, children, sisters, aunties etc.,) to:

1. Be with us when the vehicles arrive in PMB ahead of the Comrades Marathon.
2. Be with us at the Reebok Mile, which is on Cowies Hill on Comrades Day.

We also need your assistance:

1. As we are a beneficiary we have been asked to find 2010 runners who will wear pink shoe laces, pink wrist sweat band, and something pink in their hair (I am still finaling this could be a hair extension).  Reebok will give us R20 per runner who finishes – regardless of when they finish!  We can send all the materials to you.
2. We need volunteers to come and help us on our stand at the expo.
3. We are looking for breast cancer survivors who would like to tell their stories on our stand, or send us their stories and pictures.

KZN Health has also invited us to participate in a big ‘drive’ from Newcastle, Ladysmith, PMB, Valley of 1000 Hills and eThekwini  and then on the return we will exit through Stanger, Empangeni and uLundi.  Hospitals in these towns will be used as stops.  They all feed into Inkosi Albert Luthuli, where we already have the support from the oncologists and surgeons.  KZN Health also want to arrange a ‘Parade for Move for Breast Cancer Change’.  They say the march on  9^th August in 1956 to the Union Buildings will have nothing on what they intend doing and want to involve all their Community Cadres – we’ll see here! Maybe the collaborating NGO’s lead the Cadres!

For more info, contact :

Noelene Kotschan
Director
Mobile +27 83 460 6146

We are looking for 2010 registered runners to run for our cause. In return for your efforts, we will provide you with a special goodie bag, which will include a pair of pink shoe laces, a pink water bottle, a pink sweat wrist band and a pair of pink socks ‘with a difference’ made from mohair and bamboo, with support bands at the ankle and in the arch of the foot, sponsored by Cape Mohair – so that you are identifiable (the campaign has been officially authorised by Comrades Marathon).  To read more:  Comrades Newsletter Final[1]

http://www.pinkdrive.co.za/v/events_event.php?id=20100519

People Living With Cancer was fortunate enough to be invited to assist the Lance Armstrong Foundation with their stall at the Argus Expo in Cape Town last week.

“LIVESTRONG staff have made it to South Africa to attend the Cape Argus Cycling Tour, hosting a booth at the tour’s expo and meeting survivors all over Cape Town. Chris Brewer opens the week with a great video featuring the Cape Argus race director, Lance and patients at the Groote Shuur Hospital. Go to http://livestrongblog.org/2010/03/11/welcome-to-south-africa for the full story.

Eldre, Tara (from LIVESTRONG), Carin and Mel (PLWC volunteers) helping out at the booth.

We also made use of the opportunity to collect signatures for our “Stand Up To Cancer” campaign.

Livestrong arm bands were handed out and people could also write dedications for the wall to someone close to them that’s been touched by cancer.

Karen, Eldre and Jane from PLWC

The evening we attended a special dinner at the V&A Waterfront that was held for some of the cancer organisations to meet the Lance Armstrong Foundation team and talk about our work.

http://livestrongblog.org/2010/03/10/featured-commitment-maker-plwc/

The Nelspruit branch of People Living With Cancer wanted to make a difference in their community and decided to host an outreach programme to women in their community to create breast cancer awareness and share information.

The support group was put in contact with Cause Marketing Fundraisers who offered their Educational Mobile Breast Check Unit truck to the group for a week.

The following extract was taken from one of the ladies from the PLWC Nelspruit Support group, Debbie Wille’s diary:

Locations were chosen with the help of Susan Breytenbach from Cansa Nelspruit. Some of these areas literally only have basic services and a clinic scattered here and there to service high volumes of people. A lot of the people of the community are not highly educated and live in poor conditions and very few can even understand English.

The team visited Hlau Hlau and a home base care centre (the care centre had no electricity, no glass panes in their windows, long drop toilets and very little furniture), Zwelishwa Clinic and the Langeloop Clinic.  They shared with the ladies knowledge, demonstrated and encouraged all to participate in the exercises and breast self-examination.  Even the nursing staff shared that they had learned a great deal which they did not know, and felt empowered to conduct breast examinations with the women.

When a woman has discovered a lump in her breast, she will need to be referred from a clinic to a hospital.  There are only certain days of the week that doctors are available for these consultations. Should they need to be referred for a mammogram, they will be referred to a hospital where there is a machine, if it is working. Their name would then be put on a list. This process could take a couple of weeks. Should the patient need further treatment, they would then be referred to Johannesburg or Pretoria.

There are private health care facilities available in Nelspruit where mammograms, sonar’s, chemotherapy and radiation can be done, provided you have a medical aid.

With the above situation in mind, the support group believe that if women were aware of their risks and have discovered lumps or changes in their skin, that they would know that they need to take action, and hopefully the cancer can be detected early and treated, increasing their survival rate.

The women are not aware of the common causes of breast cancer and what habits one needs to adopt to develop a healthy lifestyle. The support group believe that they have only covered the tip of the iceberg in their community, with regards to the outreach of making women aware. They need to spread the word and educate more women, who in turn will reach out and educate others.

They have started an initiative that they believe will grow from strength to strength.   The seed has been planted, now they need to nurture it.

STATISTICS FOR THE WEEK

Number of Ladies registered for the Presentation: 306

Number of Breast examinations conducted: 218

Some photos of the week:

CMF Team at Zwelisha

Ladies doing exercises - Hlau Hlau

Langeloop Clinic

Teaching ladies Zwelisha Clinic

Team and volunteers at Zwelisha Clinic