Liezel Hanneman, a leukemia (blood cancer) survivor hopes to inspire the masses by sharing her story of battling with cancer and her goal is to create awareness.

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The Germiston resident urged communities to get screened regularly.

Cansa is one of South Africa’s leading organisations in the fight against cancer and their head offices are based in Bedfordview.

They advised that early detection is key to enabling effective treatment and a better chance of recovering from cancer.

Liezel was working in Limpopo when she was first diagnosed with leukemia, between 2007 and 2008.

As a widow and a single mother to one boy, she had to fend for herself and family.

She used to renovate lodges in Limpopo until the market slowed down in 2008.

Leukemia

Leukemia is a cancer of blood-forming tissues, including bone marrow, hindering the body’s ability to fight infection.

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Many types exist such as acute lymphoblastic leukaemia, acute myeloid leukaemia and chronic lymphocytic leukaemia.

Patients with slow-growing types of leukaemia don’t have symptoms.

Rapidly growing types of leukaemia may cause symptoms that include fatigue, weight loss, frequent infections and easy bleeding or bruising.

Treatment is highly variable.

For slow-growing leukaemias, treatment may include monitoring.

For aggressive leukaemias, treatment includes chemotherapy that’s sometimes followed by radiation and stem-cell transplant.

When Liezel was first diagnosed, she lost hope and literally waited for the clock to tick.

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“Receiving the news from the doctor came as shock and I almost fell off my chair. The doctor thought I knew I had the cancer,” said Liezel.

“Leaving the doctor’s office I went to the cafeteria in the hospital and bought myself a teddy bear and cuddled it on my way home.

“I still have the teddy bear to this day,” she said.

“I had a life that required me to travel a lot, the cancer status had me thinking this is the end of the road.

“I found it difficult to walk to my gate for some reasons,” said Liezel, adding that the church minister once visited her to bid her farewell.

“A friend of mine in the Cansa organisation asked whether I had realised that I am not going to die tomorrow and I had to fight – and that was my wake up call.”

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She read Hallelujah diet book which she said provided her with life-changing and life-saving information

“Four months into chemotherapy and eating right, I soon I started to feel better,” she said.

In her younger days Liezel used to be a ballet dancer and later diversified into hip-hop, street dance and ball room.

“I hated gym. I joined a ballet dance class as I knew my body will remember what it used to do when I was younger. I still knew the basics of ballet. My muscles grew stronger and stronger,” said Liezel.

Soon she started her ballet studio and whilst she was running the studio she was also undergoing chemotherapy.

“Today I am a survivor. I have been clean of cancer since 2015. It took me almost ten years to get over it,” said Liezel.

“I go for blood counts and regular check-ups with my doctor and you have to be responsible,” she said.

Liezel

Liezel is the daughter of the Johannesburg pioneer, Eben Cuyler, and she also worked as a photographer in Durban, using a Pentax camera she inherited from her late husband.

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She became a ballet photographer, and also worked for The Republican Press and Essential Magazine.

She moved to Gauteng when the media outlets closed office in Durban.

“I became a ballet photographer because most photographers would get the technique wrong while taking photos of ballet dancers,” she said.

She moved back to Limpopo because her mother started to get sick. She got a job at a local store and sold paint material.

She later started her own renovation business which she ran until she was diagnosed with leukaemia.

On Tuesdays she holds exercising classes at Rest-a-Centre Service Centre, in Primrose to help elderly people live a healthier lifestyle.