eMBALENHLE – Ms Joyce Madlabazane (34) urged women to go for regular pap smears.
She was diagnosed with cervical cancer in 2010 and she shared her personal journey of healing with Buyani Primary School as part of the Cancer Awareness Month on Thursday, 24 October.
“I had no suspicions whatsoever that I had cancer, but I was lucky enough that it was diagnosed early.”
Ms Madlabazane said she was devastated and isolated herself from her friends and became depressed.
She received treatment for several months at the Steve Biko Academic Hospital.
“It was a bad few weeks, the daily radiation was worse than the chemotherapy.”
Ms Patricia Mavanana, principal, said Ms Madlabazane’s experience has encouraged her staff to do regular check ups.
“Having a pap smear is a little bit uncomfortable, but it can save you a lot of trouble and pain in the future.”
Ms Jacqueline Erasmus, Cansa Secunda community mobiliser, talked about the different types of cancer, such as breast, cervical, womb, prostate, throat and colorectal cancer.
She highlighted the importance of getting regular check ups and of living a healthy lifestyle that could save people from getting cancer.
