Johannesburg - One in 29 women in South Africa are likely to suffer from breast cancer and the average goes up to one in eight women in urban areas, according to the Breast Health Foundation of South Africa.
On Thursday, patron CH Pink and also Ndalo Media Chief Executive Officer, Khanyi Dhlomo, spoke to SAnews during the breast cancer awareness campaign held at the Helen Joseph Hospital in Johannesburg.
The hospital hosted the world renowned Carolina Herrera and her daughter Carolina Herrera de Baez earlier in the day. Their “CH Pink” initiative, which fights breast cancer, is being implemented at the hospital.
October is recognised as National Breast Cancer Month.
Dhlomo said there is a high default rate in patients being treated for breast cancer because once they have been diagnosed they do not keep up the care. She said some patients find the chemotherapy to be too much for them.
However, through the CH Pink initiative, the default rate has decreased by 70% because they make hospital staff aware that it is not just technical or medical care that is needed, but also motivation and inspiration as patients are human beings.
“We forget as people sometimes that caring for a person is as important as caring for the disease,” said Dhlomo.
She said while there was awareness of breast cancer in the country, the level was not where it should be.
CH Pink’s work started in Gauteng, but Dhlomo hopes that it will grow to reach a national stature.
The Carolin Herrera brand, or CH Pink, has been working closely with breast cancer organisations around the world since 2008, including Brazil, Mexico and Spain.
In South Africa, the initiative educates 795 patients a month. In the first semester of this year alone, it has educated 5 564 patients, helped 1448 patients navigate the system and distributed 236 care packs to help manage the side effects of chemotherapy.
Breast cancer survivor, Ntokozo Dludla, who now works as a counsellor for breast cancer patients at the hospital believes that early detection saves the lives of many cancer patients.
“If you detect it early, you can save your life,” said Dludla, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2008 and started her treatment in 2009.
She said her family gave her the necessary support throughout the process.
Her cancer was at 3rd A stage when she was diagnosed, but her doctor believed in the treatment and made her believe that taking chemotherapy for six cycles would help her health.
“It worked very well. Instead of removing my breast, they just removed the small part and a lump, and I was okay,” said Dludla.
The whole process took her about a year. She said it is important for women to check their breasts at least once a year, even after they have survived the disease.
Part of her job is to teach women and the community about breast cancer and breast health generally.
Dludla said she has learned that it is easy to relate to most patients and talk to them about what is going on with their bodies. However, it is challenging to explain breast cancer to those affected by the disease like families and neighbours of the patients.
“You need a strong support structure. So to my patients, I give them the love and support that my family gave to me when I was a patient. If anyone else can do that, they will be giving a cancer patient the best gift ever - love and support,” said Dludla.
In 2013, when the project started, Dludla said many women were reluctant to receive treatment because they lacked information about how chemotherapy works, and only knew that it made them feel sick.
She said through the initiative they are stopping the stigma attached to people with the disease.
Staff Nurse in charge of Breast Cancer Unit in the hospital, Zinhle Ncube, said the unit has 14 beds for breast cancer patients and plastic cosmetic surgery.
“We divide those beds depending on the number of patients that our doctors have because we only have 14, but priority is given to breast cancer patients,” said Ncube.
She said the unit performs theatre cases three times per week, operating patients on Mondays, Tuesdays and Fridays.
Ncube said the demand is high at the hospital as many other hospitals refer their patients to Helen Joseph Hospital.
“We operate about 60 patients per month,” said Ncube. - SAnews.gov.za
