Cuppa brings message of encouragement and hope for attendees
A message of hope and the will to fight against the odds was emanated to the audience.
It was a day of encouragement and inspiration at a Cuppa for Cansa event hosted by local Rahginie Pillay in Actonville recently.
Rahginie said she hosted the event in honour of her late mother who died of lung cancer.
“I want people to become more aware and involved with the fight against cancer,” she said.
“Coming from a community that is not well informed of this disease, I took the initiative upon my myself to explore and get involved with the cancer foundation in order to bring about awareness and educate our community.
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“Initially, I hosted this event for women only in 2017, but this year I have decided to include men and children as cancer affects all people regardless of their gender or background.
“My amazing team helped to pull this event together.”
The theme for this year’s event was My Cuppa My Story, which was brought to life by cancer survivors Ryan Young and eight-year-old Joshua Switala.
The pair shared their perilous journeys with an audience of about 120 people.
Ryan also spoke on the importance of visiting doctors regularly for check-ups.
“Do not ignore the signs your body gives you,” said the stage four cancer survivor.
Ryan endured melanoma sarcoma for 18 months and has been in remission for the same amount of time.
Ryan’s wife, Luna, who has been his biggest support system, told the City Times providing love and care to the afflicted is crucial in the fight against cancer.
She also stated that the family did not tell Ryan what stage of cancer he had.
Her reasoning for this is that she believed if he had known which stage he was in that it would weaken his mindset in fighting the melanoma sarcoma.
“We only told him which stage he was in after he went into remission,” said a tearful Luna.
“Families need to stand together.
“It’s all about the mindset; families need to help the patient stay in a positive mindset.
“Keep telling them that they will get through it and that they are more than capable of fighting the disease off.
“There are times when you all wonder how you will get through it, break down the day or just take each moment as it comes.”
A total of R25 000 was raised at the event, which will be donated to Cansa care and support programmes.
