A bigger turn-out at this year’s Pink Walk
PARKTOWN – The 3km walk around the hospital saw a larger number of participants in pink to raise awareness for breast cancer.
Pink was the colour of the moment as participants gathered at Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital in Parktown for the Pink Day Walk.
The 3km walk around the hospital came a few days before the third annual Momentum One Day International cricket match more commonly known as Pink Day. The walk was courtesy of Central Gauteng Lions, Cricket South Africa, Momentum as well as various other sponsors and organisations participating.
Charlotte Maxeke CEO Gladys Bogoshi said she was grateful for the opportunity to make people aware of breast cancer while they walked and had fun. The Breast Care facility at the hospital is considered a ‘centre of excellence’ in the breast care field and the unit diagnoses more than 350 new breast cancer cases every year.
A specialist surgeon at the hospital’s breast care clinic, Dr Boitumelo Phakathi encouraged women, regardless of age, to seek medical help as soon as they experience a lump or any unusual change in the breast. “If there is anyone in your family with a history of breast or ovarian cancer, that can put you at risk of getting breast cancer. Many other risk factors may include leading an unhealthy lifestyle or conceiving at an older age. However, just the presence of one risk factor doesn’t necessarily mean one will get breast cancer.”
The breast care clinic is the beneficiary of the Pink Day cricket match between SA’s Proteas and England with the funds raised allocated towards breast cancer research.
CEO of Central Gauteng Lions Jono Leaf-Wright said he was inspired by the message of hope he got taking a tour for the first time around the Charlotte Maxeke Hospital in October last year. “What Pink Day does, driving around with the South African flags, gives me hope as a proud citizen to know that it is a purpose-driven initiative. It is an initiative where South Africans get together, sponsors get together and we fight the dreaded disease called cancer.”
Thereafter, the participants embarked on the walk while singing jovial songs alongside an instrumental band.
Have any fundraiser sports activities in the community? Invite us by email to naidines@caxton.co.za
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