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‘Colin the Colon’ Tunnel Educates About Colorectal Cancer
As you know, I now live with my family in Johannesburg which is where I received all my treatment. I have been fortunate to have phenomenal South African medical professionals treating me. I want to pay back that kind by raising awareness about cancer in South Africa. I am happy to say that I am collaborating with CANSA who have launched its Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaign this month. Please keep reading to find out about this amazing campaign – raising awareness, educating and saving lives! Afrikaanse Media Vrystelling 11 March 2020 – CANSA launches its Colorectal Cancer Awareness Campaign in partnership with Medtronic, the global leader in medical technology,…
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Exercise during chemo?
Before I was diagnosed with colon cancer in August 2019, I regularly worked out. I would usually wake up around 5am and do strength training before my daughter woke up, although on occasions, she would wake up and watch me! During the last couple of months prior to being diagnosed, my energy dipped dramatically, I had extreme exhaustion which meant no more exercise. I also had severe abdominal pains and was on the toilet more often than I was off it. After my major surgery to remove my tumour, I had to take six weeks to recover as I had a pretty big scar and bruising to contend with! I…
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Angelica’s story
My name is Angelica Alen and I am 40 years old. I am originally from Brazil but I have spent the last 19 years living and working around the world. My last stop was New Zealand where my husband and I stayed for six years. I had my two kids there. It was a stressful time arriving in New Zealand, settling ourselves, having my first baby and second baby within two years a part with no family support. My youngest started developing symptoms of asthma in New Zealand and I found myself spending a lot of time in hospital by myself with a 1.5 years old baby. I was really…
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Life takes another turn
Monday 4th May, CT results day ! I woke up at 2:30am and thought oh no, I need to sleep properly! I relaxed myself and managed to fall back to sleep. I woke up to Damian at 6:15am turning the kettle on and he came and asked me if I wanted coffee, he hardly ever makes me coffee so he was feeling nervous too! I felt really tired and decided to get back in bed, Damian, myself and Arabella just snuggled and watched TV for a while. Around 9:30am my mobile rang and it was the clinic, Adam was off work sick but I asked if I could see Owen…
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Molly’s story
My name is Molly. I am now 40 years old. When I was 29 years old and pregnant with my third child I was diagnosed with stage 3C colon cancer. Here is my story. In August of 2008, I ate a bigger dinner and had extreme stomach pain. My dad is a doctor and after this happened several times, I went to the ER because the pain was so bad. They performed an ultrasound and told me that I probably had a ruptured cyst. I went home and the pain continued but only if I ate a big meal. I found out I was pregnant that fall. During the beginning…
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Germaine’s story
My name is Germaine Warren and I am a 36-year-old cancer survivor. In March of 2019, I lost 20 lbs. in one month. My doctor figured it was due to a change in medicine, since all my blood work came back clear. I had no other symptoms, so it would have been hard to diagnose my cancer at the time. In the summer of 2019, I began experiencing a loss of energy. I was severely fatigued when doing simple tasks. The fatigue progressively got worse. In the fall, I began seeing blood in my stool. After an emergency room visit, and a positive test for blood in my stool, I…
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My mum’s story
My mum, Charlie, jumped on a plane to South Africa as soon as she heard the news of my cancer. We picked her up on the 19th August 2019 from O. R. Tambo airport then went and had lunch. It was so lovely to have mum over here and for her to finally see some of South Africa, despite the fact we had a major operation looming. I had my operation on 22nd August and she was by my side every step of the way. It doesn’t matter how old you are, having your mum there is priceless. After a week in hospital, I came home and we were able…
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The day my life changed direction
Like with so many things in my life, I had planned to release my blog earlier but life doesn’t always work out the way you want. Distinct lack of confidence also contributed to my lack of writing. Today though, I am stronger. I am wiser . I am braver. I am ready to share my story. How did I arrive at this point? The short answer is, I got cancer. I had relocated to South Africa at the end of July 2019 after spending two years in the U. K. studying a post grad and training to be a Primary Teacher. Not long after arriving, on the 8th August 2019,…
