Today, 15 February, is International Childhood Cancer Day and South Africans are coming together to raise awareness for childhood cancer – an often curable disease that may not be treated due to late diagnosis, lack of access to life-saving essential medicines and appropriate treatment.
In South Africa, it is estimated that more than half of children with cancer go undiagnosed, and many of those who are diagnosed are in advanced stages of illness. The South African Children’s Tumour Registry (SACTR) reports about 1000 new cases a year for children under the age of 16.
Read: WATCH: International Childhood Cancer Day set to raise awareness
In a community-initiated competition, the West Pack Lifestyle retail group reached out to the public to nominate deserving charities. The feedback was an overwhelming majority of nominations for cancer charities. This resulted in a total of R175 000 donated to cancer-related charities. Brian Flote, Mogi Naidoo and Rianda Lourens were among the winners, receiving a share of R80 000 in cash prizes. Their favourite charity, CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA, received the same in cash donations from West Pack Lifestyle. A total of R500 000 was shared among West Pack customers as cash prizes, and another R500 000 was matched in shared cash donations for the winner’s favourite charities.
The cancer-related charities that received donations included CHOC, CANSA, Rare Diseases South Africa, Rainbows and Smiles, The Sunflower Fund, Stepping Stone Hospice and Cupcakes of Hope Cancer Foundation.
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“We certainly are fortunate to have been selected as a beneficiary of the West Pack competition. On behalf of CHOC, I would like to thank West Pack and the participants of the competition for this support. This R80, 000 is going towards CHOC’s programmes of support to alleviate the emotional and financial strain that the childhood cancer brings and in doing so try to make the journey easier for the children with cancer and their families The donation will be split across our core programmes consisting of emotional support, accommodation, transport, practical support and awareness training and education,” said Carl Queiros, CEO of CHOC Childhood Cancer Foundation SA.
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Some early warning signs of childhood cancer:
- White spot in the eye
- Lump in the abdomen and pelvis, head and neck
- Unexplained prolonged fever over two weeks
- Aching bones, joints and back
- A headache for more than a week
- Regression of milestones
Do you have a heart for cancer? Help raise awareness today by sharing a pic of your heart pose, joining celebs like Suzelle DIY and more who have also shown their support for CHOC. Both West Pack Lifestyle and CHOC will be running competitions from their Facebook pages for South Africans who participate and help raise awareness for International Childhood Cancer Day.
