CHARITIES
cer
Fight Against Can
the Biggest
Beulah Jankelowitz of Reach For Recovery
(far left) receives a cheque for R70 000.00
from SPAR Marketing Executive Martin
Webber and Cancer Patron Edith Venter after
the 2018 SPAR Women’s Challenge Joburg
race at Marks Park Sports Club
Cancervive at the Race
O
ne in eight women in South
Africa is likely to be diagnosed
with breast cancer at some
stage in her life. This is a staggering
statistic, but the good news is that
breast cancer is no longer necessarily
a death sentence. Early detection and
treatment have made it possible for the
majority of breast cancer patients to
survive. However, having a partial or full
mastectomy is a traumatic experience
for any woman, and many struggle to
come to terms with the loss of what
they believe is an essential part of their
femininity. They may also be scared
of the path that lies ahead, and this is
where Reach for Recovery comes in. options. The patients are given booklets
and pamphlets dealing with various
topics relating to breast cancer.
This is where Reach for Recovery comes
into the picture. Every member of the
organisation has been through the
process and can relate to the concerns
and fears of the newly diagnosed cancer
patient. Volunteers will visit the patient,
either at home or in hospital, to talk Many members of Reach for Recovery
take part in the SPAR Women’s
Challenge Joburg every year, and
they are easily identified by their pink
T-shirts, but also because wherever they
are, there is the sound of laughter and
chatter. So spend some time talking to
about what they are likely to experience,
and to give advice and discuss the
10
Also, the patients are given a soft
cushion for under-arm comfort, and a
pretty floral bag in which to carry the
port-au-vac drain that has to be carried
around after surgery. Reach for Recovery
also supplies a temporary prosthesis, if
needed, and can advise on the different
prostheses available, if the patient is not
having reconstructive surgery. The work
these women do is invaluable and they
rely heavily on donations to be able to
carry out their work.
Happy to Chat
them and find out more about life after a
mastectomy. It will be time well spent.
Spar Women’s Challenge | Joburg’s Most Beautiful Road Race
Pictured at the recent Cancervive launch in August at
Time Square Arena in Tshwane is from left Lizelle Knott
(Non-Hodgkins B-Cell Lymphoma, Breast Cancer and
Metastatic Breast Cancer Warrior), Itumeleng Letoaba
(Breast Cancer Survivor), Naniki Seboni (Malignant
Melanoma Survivor), Lillian Dube (Breast Cancer
Survivor) and Fredrika Henning (Breast Cancer)
Remember Your Old Shoes
Just another reminder that the Spar Women’s Challenge
Joburg will once again be running its Drop a Pair and
Show you Care campaign, whereby runners can bring
old pairs of trainers to the race to be handed on to
women and girls who have no running shoes, or cannot
afford new ones. Since the campaign was first launched
in 2015, hundreds of pairs of shoes
have been donated to needy
runners, so if you have a pair
collecting dust at home,
please bring them along
and help get another
woman running.
The SPAR Women’s Challenge Joburg at Mark Park Sports Club on
Sunday 6 October is all about the women of Joburg getting together
to have fun, but there is also a serious side to the Challenge. The
fight against cancer, one of the country’s most prolific diseases, will
be the biggest beneficiary from the Challenge, with proceeds from
the race to be donated to Reach for Recovery, a voluntary non-
profit support group for women who have to have breasts removed
because of breast cancer.
With the SPAR Women’s Challenge Joburg being run
in breast cancer awareness month, the race organisers
have confirmed that Cancervive will also be at Marks
Park on race day. Cancervive is a survivor driver
initiative and was established in response to the dire
need for cancer education in South Africa. On race
day, Cancervive will create awareness of and drive
education around cancer in a truly original, impactful
and life-changing way, through activations that involve
the thousands of women who will be participating in
the Challenge.