“Tannie Kitty” is a well-known member of the Bonnievale community. Her independent way of living came under threat as she gradually aged and became less mobile. It is difficult for a person who is used to living on her own to make the mind shift to live in assisted living. As a professional team, we realised the need for her to be admitted into a care facility, but it was impossible to change her mind, she was adamant to remain in her little house forever… Regardless of her resistance to the idea of being admitted to the local old age
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Lace Up For Cancer is back by popular demand and take place Saturday, 24 February 2023. The event is hosted in aid of World Cancer Day and all proceeds will go to charity. Walking and running options will be available at with the beautiful and scenic route at the Anura Wine Farm Vineyard, at Klapmuts, Stellenbosch. The HPCA in collaboration with the Cancer Alliance and CANSA and are encouraging the public to participate and bring your family and friends laced up in their craziest outfit and enjoy a relaxing afternoon on the wine farm thereafter. Leigh Meinert, Advocacy Manager for
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30 year-old Zinhle,* was admitted to Hillcrest AIDS Centre Trust’s (HACT) Respite Unit after being referred by her local clinic. Living with HIV for the past 14 years, this frail and painfully thin young woman was now facing a new battle; having recently been diagnosed with cancer. “I’m so grateful to be here” says a softly spoken, Zinhle, “I was in so much pain before coming here, but the nurses are taking good care of me…” Zinhle’s story is one of struggle and survival. Looking back, she believes that finding out she was HIV positive when she was 14 years-old
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This year’s ‘World Hospice Palliative Care Day’ saw an outpouring of support for South African hospices. In alignment with the World Hospice Palliative Care Association (WHPCA) theme, ‘healing hearts and communities’, the South African Hospice Palliative Care Association (HPCA) launched a campaign from 21st September to 8th October that took the global theme further by creating a defined call to action from both the HPCA and participating member hospices to the general public and medical professionals. Focusing on the theme of grief, the campaign asked every person who has experienced grief – whether personally or in solidarity with another, to
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October is known as “Breast Cancer Awareness Month” in South Africa. It’s a nationwide drive to raise awareness of a debilitating disease across all races and class structures. Breast cancer is the most common cancer in women. Based on statistic alone it is safe to say that breast cancer requires more attention than your annual check-up. Survival rates vary worldwide and much of this variation is due to late detection. The later the detection, the later the stage of breast cancer and therefore the lower the survival rate, despite more intensive therapy, says Dr Justus Apffelstaedt specialist surgeon with an
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We are grateful to Jacqui Kaye of Hospice Wits, for sharing more about the rich history of hospices in SA and on the continent with us. She writes… As the 1970s ended, issues around care of the dying attracted an interest in South Africa. Centres of activity developed across the country in places such as Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. These initiatives centred on two key features: an affirmation of the value of all human beings – irrespective of race or religion – and an open engagement in the debate surrounding death and the dying process. In 1977, Margaret Lebish,
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The theme for World Hospice Palliative Care Day 2022 is Healing Hearts and Communities. In line with this the Hospice Palliative Care Association (HPCA) launched their World Day campaign on the 21st September and 29 member hospices are participating. Focusing on the theme of grief, the campaign asks every person who has experienced grief, whether personally or in solidarity with another, to wear a ribbon on their right wrist. “The last few years have been grief filled for everyone. Globally, there are billions of ‘the walking wounded’. And we are all grieving. There are those that are facing life-threatening diagnoses,
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As we approach World Hospice Palliative Care Day 2022 we are reminded of what a powerful tool social media is. Not only does is it help showcase the work hospices do, but it also generates support in critical times of need. In 2014 Cynthia Bond (74), a long-term patient at FWC Hospice which operates in Johannesburg’s West Rand area, was diagnosed with an acute form of Rheumatoid Arthritis that left her completely immobile. Cynthia is currently only able to move her head without experiencing excruciating pain and must be turned as regularly as possible. Thanks to an article about Cynthia
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South Africa’s first National Grief Awareness Day was on Tuesday, 30th August. Here’s why Bridget McNulty, author of The Grief Handbook, thinks it’s a good idea. When my mom died very suddenly, I felt like I had been unwittingly enrolled in a club I didn’t want to be in. The Grief Club. We are the walking wounded – the ones with huge gaping holes in our chests where our loss has ripped through us. But we are also weirdly invisible to those who haven’t lost someone close to them. People were very supportive in the weeks following my mom’s death,
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