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Thank You for Nurturing Hope

Dear CANSA Friend

When the Coronavirus entered our lives, it set us all on a roller coaster of emotions. Fear, uncertainty, anxiety, loss and grief, played out every day.

But then, as lockdown set in, solitude and introspection gave each one of us the opportunity to focus on what is really important in our lives, and other emotions surfaced.

For me, the uppermost emotion that’s surfaced has been gratitude.

Gratitude for my personal blessings in life. Gratitude for the safety and health of my loved ones. Gratitude for the services and support that we can provide to cancer survivors. And gratitude for the power that your caring support gives to people living with cancer.

You have my enormous gratitude for your ongoing kindness. And my wish is that in return, you’ll be greatly rewarded for putting your caring into positive action.

Yours sincerely,

Elize Joubert

Chief Executive Officer

Connect with Hope!

As winter sets in, the expectation that South Africa still has to reach the peak of COVID-19 infection, we’re all in need of a sense of hope.

And with Mandela Day fresh in our memory, the great man is an incredible example of how the human spirit can hold on to hope in what seems like impossible circumstances.

For those of our citizens living with cancer, especially those undergoing treatment, COVID-19 doubles their risk of infection, their anxiety and stress levels, their sense of isolation, and adds frustration in not being able to access support services.

With face-to-face contact being too dangerous, and virtual contact not always possible, we’re proud to announce that on Mandela Day we launched our CANSA Tele Counselling Service.

This free, confidential and professional counselling is open to all cancer patients, caregivers, as well as families and parents or guardians of children living with cancer. Simply by calling toll-free 0800 22 66 22 to book an appointment - information and support can easily be accessed in seven of our languages (English, Afrikaans, isiXhosa, isiZulu, siSwati, Sesotho and Setswana). Appointments can also be made via [email protected].

Behind this service, as with all our CANSA achievements, lies the support of friends like you.

Please make an online donation towards our telephone counselling service which is offered free of charge.

Thank you for being something stronger than COVID-19

Here at CANSA, we didn’t have to look far as we searched for something stronger than COVID-19. Stronger than the virus was the ongoing caring and commitment of our CANSA friends and supporters like you.

Thank you for keeping us going through lockdown, so that those we serve didn't feel abandoned and alone. This was especially true in the support of our younger cancer survivors.

At our CANSA TLC Nicus Lodge we were able to keep the children busy by converting the floor into an art space to be filled with whiteboard marker pictures. And they were so good about maintaining social distancing.

Another special gift as a result of your donations has been the continued supply of Broviac ports – the vein access implant that takes the trauma out of administering medicine or withdrawing blood for testing. Thank you for this blessing.

Teen cancer survivors fall between paediatric oncology and the adult treatment. They need unique support. And our recently launched CANSA TLC Tygerberg Lodge for teen cancer patients at Tygerberg Hospital now fills that gap.

Throughout lockdown, you’ve helped us maintain and improve our Tough Living with Cancer (TLC) services. Using the highest safety protocols, our three TLC Lodges, ward, and two support rooms remained open. Thank you for helping to make that possible through your caring generosity.

Will I ever have hair again

Whilst chemotherapy is an effective cancer treatment, it takes its toll. And one of the upsetting side effects is the loss of hair.

Waking up each morning to a pillow covered in the hair that used to be on one’s head is hard enough for an adult. But for a child without the full understanding, the experience is deeply distressing.

Normally patients would make an appointment with one of our Care Centres to choose a wig – until lockdown. But Ciska Loggenberg in our Pretoria region, together with wigmaker Rani Chetty from Tymeless Necessity Hair, made possible what seemed to be impossible for an 11-year-old Ewings Sarcoma patient.

Working remotely on the fine detail, the wig was made. Globeflight couriers collected and delivered the wig on 18 May 2020. And during a video call to the young patient’s parents about handling of the wig, they reported that she was ‘over the moon’.

Make an online donation here to give another young cancer patient the gift of a wig.

Mandela Day is more than 67 minutes

Mandela day has become an institution in South Africa, with people traditionally giving up 67 minutes of their day to improve our world.

But it’s what’s behind those 67 minutes that’s really important – the caring, the thoughtfulness, the reaching out.

A cancer diagnosis and treatment is difficult enough, but combine it with poverty and it’s overwhelming.

CANSA would like to distribute a 100 Care Packs for adults and children in need, at each of our Care Centres country-wide. You can still support this project.

R180 covers the cost of a basic care pack containing toiletry items, a few treats, and a blank notepad with coloured pens. You could add to the basics with one or more of eight ‘extras’, like a beanie or scarf or additional snack items ranging in price from R10 to R40 each.

Alternately, please support our Care Homes and TLC Lodges by donating goods or services they are in need of – view individual web pages for wish lists:

Thank you for caring and for nurturing HOPE!

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