Cancer awareness held among black communities

The recent passing away of Zoleka Mandela has once again highlighted the need for Cancer Awareness programmes, particularly among black communities.

Zoleka passed away on September 25 after a long battle against cancer. The cancer had started off as breast cancer before spreading to other parts of the body.

“Zoleka’s passing is indicative of the statistics in our country which show that the deadliest cancers are the most treatable, if detected early.

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“Breast cancer is one of the cancers that can be treated successfully when detected in good time, yet it continues to kill many women, especially black women,” said Sister Sibongile Ramotshela, Afia Tai Managing Director.

Afia Tai is a non-profit company based in Johannesburg which aims to decrease mortality and morbidity due to non-communicable diseases in particular cancer in communities and provide strength through raising awareness, training and education at community level.

This month, Afia Tai ran a five-day Cancer community awareness access research and education (c-CARE) course for Faith Based Leaders in Phiri, Soweto to raise awareness of the various interventions available for cancer treatment in the country.

The course focused on five cancers which are cervical, breast, lung, prostate and multiple myeloma.

They also focused on capacitating faith based leaders on mental health, spirituality and introduction to palliative care.

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“We decided to focus on faith-based leaders because in their line of work they engage with individuals or families battling cancers.

“They are very influential and trusted in their faith communities and their informed input can help us address the unnecessary high numbers of cancer deaths in the country,” said Sister Ramotshela.

Ramotshela added that along with cervical cancer, breast cancer contributes to the death of many black women.

“What the numbers show us is that in black communities, lack of knowledge, fear, stigma and certain religious or spiritual interpretations are as responsible for cancer deaths as the cancerous cells.

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“To effectively fight cancer among black communities requires that we become intentional in spreading awareness of what is cancer and how it can be treated.”

She added, “Official health department statistics show us that of all the South African race groups, the percentage of black people who present themselves for testing or screening is very low but the number of those who die from cancer is the highest among the population groups.”