Residents geared up to get shaved or sprayed at a CANSA Shavathon event at Buffalo Ranch in Pelzvale on Saturday February 26 to show their support for a cancer survivor and those living with the disease.

According to Leanda Joubert, a coordinator of the Shavaton, the event also coincided with the 19th national CANSA Shavathon fundraising event.

Leanda said the Shavaton at Buffalo Ranch was held for her 56-year-old aunt, Heather Kriek, who was diagnosed with two types of cancer – brain as well as breast cancer. Heather also lost her husband, Chris to glandular cancer in November last year.

She’s not doing so well, but we thought of doing this because we’re losing so many people to the disease. We contacted CANSA and they told us about the Shavaton, so we decided to do this at Buffalo Ranch as they were one of our sponsors,” Leanda said.

Leanda explained further that although the funds were for the CANSA organisation as a whole, bringing events closer to people help to create a sense of empathy among communities, and ordinary citizens are educated on how to treat the disease and where to go for help.

She also thanked residents of Rand West City and beyond who took the time out of their Saturday to support the cause. She further applauded those who still showed up and were not deterred by the road conditions.

“Cancer is something that’s very personal to me. In the last few years, many people lost their lives to the disease.”

Leanda went on to say many special facilities were crippled by the effects of Covid-19 lockdowns, also making it difficult to fund the treatments for survivors.

Covid-19 hasn’t made things easier for anyone but we can’t have people who are gravely ill of cancer and are still worried about cancer. We want to help survivors or those diagnosed with the disease every way possible. We are really grateful for those who came out in numbers to either shave their heads or spray their hair,” Leanda said.