“It is not often that people are comfortable talking openly about cancer, especially cancer that affects men.
“The reality is, it is there and we need to be educated more about it, particularly middle-aged and elderly people like myself.”
Those are the words of 71-year-old Edward Dhlamini who, along with other residents of Zonkizizwe, was surprised to learn that men, too, can be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Dhlamini attended the first leg of the metro’s Cancer Awareness Campaign, which took place last Friday, at the community hall in Zonkizizwe.
The campaign is aimed at educating the community about different types of cancer.
Women were encouraged to look out for irregular bleeding and discharge, unfamiliar plumpness and blemishes around their breasts and warned to not treat any unusual bodily changes as normal.
Men were also taught how to conduct breast self-assessments, to monitor their urinal pattern and identify changes in their bodies.
Zonkizizwe Clinic head, Savera Bharath, also encouraged them to not be shy and to visit their nearest health care facility for tests, as prostate and testicular cancer can be detected only through blood tests in their early stages.
The factors that are known to increase the risk of cancer, such as tobacco and alcohol use, as well as poor eating habits, were discussed by cancer survivor Nthabiseng Matlala during her talk.
She emphasised how being diagnosed with cancer is ”not the end of the world”.
“Yes, you will feel sick and your body may change if you have to undergo chemotherapy, but by leading an active and healthy lifestyle, free of fatty foods, alcohol and cigarettes, you can beat cancer when it is diagnosed early,” said Matlala.
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