Finding your silver lining

THE year is 1994, South Africa ushers in a new era of democracy and the Springboks win their first Rugby World Cup trophy. But for Durban North resident, Janice Benecke, it was the year she began her long battle with cancer.

Janice defied the odds, beating the dreaded disease not once, but twice, 14 years apart. She also lost her husband to cancer but has remained the bubbly and positive person she is today. The 54-year-old is now Durban’s ambassador for PinkDrive and uses her inspirational story and life experiences to help raise awareness on cancer prevention.

She said the key to her recovery and her heroic battle to beat cancer was because of the support she received from loved ones around her.

“I have the best sisters in the world. They would be at every trip to hospital, every chemo visit and every CAT and PET scan. They would come equipped with something we dubbed the ‘Janice Bag’. It had all sorts of crossword puzzles, Sudoku and a Kindle to fill the time,” she laughed.

“I’ve always been a positive person and when I was first diagnosed, the doctor told me to fear the worse. For me the worst was death, but I remained positive in the face of the news. But my sisters, Carol and Laura, gave me a solid support base. Cancer patients don’t need sympathy, they need support,” Janice said.

The local resident was first diagnosed with germ cell cancer. Doctors discovered a golf ball size growth on her coccyx bone. Fourteen years later Janice discovered a lump on her left breast.

“They removed 18 lymph nodes and I have a 15cm cut under my arm to my nipple,” she said. “When I went for my third chemotherapy session, as they put the needle into the port, I collapsed and stopped breathing. I could hear in the distant background ‘Mrs Benecke, are you ok?’ It took a while to respond with the help of oxygen. My heart had stopped and I had flatlined and was actually dead for a few seconds. But by God’s grace, he had other plans for me.”

Benecke’s life was about to change again as she lost her husband, Charles, who was also diagnosed with cancer.

“While I am going through all of this my husband really gets ill. He was later diagnosed with multiple myeloma, which is bone marrow cancer. To see him in such a way was not nice at all.

“He was on such strong medication, was in so much pain and was so brave throughout his trial, but sadly, he only lasted seven months after he was diagnosed. We’d been together since I was 16-years-old,” she said.

“These trials that I have been through have been tough, but it’s has taught me an important lesson. I urge people, especially women, to have yourselves checked, be aware. Do not think that this cannot happen to you because it can,” she said.

Visit www.pinkdrive.co.za for more information.