Cancer survivor adds her voice to magazine outrage

DURBAN North cancer survivor, Janice Benecke, has added her voice to the nation-wide outrage at the awareness campaign featuring several celebrities. The celebrities were featured in the  popular You magazine where they pretended to be bald in support of cancer patients who had lost their hair to chemotherapy.  Their hair was not shaved for the campaign but photoshopped.

Benecke who has battled cancer twice, said she felt insulted by the campaign. “I can’t condone their efforts. They have done absolutely nothing nor have they made any sacrifices, but they get published on the front page of a magazine. I think that they are just jumping on the bandwagon for some publicity, since it is breast cancer awareness month. If they really wanted to do something  positive they should have shaved their heads,” she said.

The cancer awareness campaign, rolled out by the magazine, has sparked public outrage and now the celebs, Shashi Naidoo, Poppy Ntshongwana, Zakeeya Patel, Elma Postma, Leanne Liebenberg and LeAnne Dlamini, have endured waves of criticism since the magazine hit the shelves earlier this week. According to Benecke, losing her hair was one of the most traumatizing aspects of her battle with cancer.

But Cansa’s marketing and communication head, Lucy Balona, said she was surprised by the negative reaction, as the NPO had partnered with another magazine on a similar campaign, which had garnered a positive response.

Cara Noble, the KZN regional manager, urged the public to read the article. “People are judging the campaign based on the photos, and I don’t think they actually read the article. I believe the celebrities’ intentions where sincere. They all shared personal experience with cancer, and how a loved one had been affected by the disease,” she said.

Noble added that people should be able to participate and raise awareness in ways that make them feel comfortable.