The Motor Industry Staff Association (MISA) Charity Golf Day Raises R120 000 for The Prostate Cancer Foundation

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A charity golf day hosted by MISA in May raised a fantastic R120 000 which was donated to The Prostate Cancer Foundation.  With prostate cancer set to become the most common cancer in South Africa by 2030, education and awareness are key to the  detection of prostate cancer in the early stage when the disease is still potentially curable. Organisations such as MISA are increasingly recognizing the importance of key men’s health issues. “Their support of the Prostate Cancer Foundation is greatly appreciated and will enable us to make a difference in the fight  to ensure that less men in South Africa are only diagnosed when they have advanced prostate cancer which is not curable” said the organisation’s CEO Andrew Oberholzer.

 

Androgen Deprivation Monotherapy (ADT) is no longer considered standard of care for treating recurrent and advanced prostate cancer

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Traditionally men diagnosed with recurrent or advanced prostate cancer have been given androgen deprivation therapy (hormone therapy). The Prostate Cancer Foundation’s Medical and Scientific  Advisory Board chairman, Prof Shingai Mutambirwa explains why this is no longer considered to be adequate.

 

Suit Up Saturday at The South African Congress of Oncology

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Thanks to all the oncologists, radiation therapists, nurses and social workers  who suited up at the South African Congress of Oncology in Cape Town to help raise awareness about prostate cancer. A special thanks to Bionike for the great samples for Suit Up Saturday congress delegates.

Bongani Bingwa Takes The Test For Prostate Cancer

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Radio 702 talkshow host and TV presenter Bongani Bingwa know the imporatnce of taking the test for prostate cancer. The early detection of prostate cancer can save your life.

 

Welcome Our New Durban Patient Affairs Board Chairman Dumisani Pakkies

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Our newly appointed Patient Affairs Board Chairman, Dumisani Pakkies, is a 53 year old prostate cancer survivor with a passion to educate men about the disease, and the importance of risk and age appropriate screening. He knows what it’s like to battle through the side effects of various treatments, and attributes his survival and recovery to running. His journey with prostate cancer has helped him to realise that because men are so reluctant to talk about the disease, they are missing the opportunity to be screened and diagnosed in the early stage stages of the disease when treatments are potentially curable.

He has already recruited his first volunteer Patient Affairs Board member, Sibongiseni Nxumalo. After undergoing basic training on prostate cancer they were off to a quick start with two awareness events in one day.

 

We applaud there passion and efforts, and look forward to seeing the impact that they will have in KwaZulu-Natal. The need is huge with one study at Edendale hospital showing that the majority of men who presented with symptoms of prostate cancer had advanced stage aggressive prostate cancer . 660% of these men had cancer that had already spread which is called metastatic prostate cancer. At this stage the cancer cannot be cured and treatments are focused on slowing disease progression and reducing complications from the disease having spread.

We still need volunteer prostate cancer survivors to join our Patient Affairs Board in many other areas, so if you are a prostate cancer survivor and you have a passion to help educate men about the disease give us a call or send us an e-mail.

Book our Prostate Cancer Foundation Stand for your company wellness event

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Educating men about the importance of age and risk appropriate screening for prostate cancer can help to ensue that prostate cancer is detected in the early stages of the disease when treatment is potentially curable.

Our prostate cancer nurses and educators provide important basic information about prostate cancer that can help save lives. We are also able to do onsite PSA blood tests for men over the age of 40. The PSA blood test is the best test we currently have to detect problems with the prostate. An elevated PSA level could mean that the prostate is enlarged, or that there is an infection, or that there is prostate cancer.

With prostate cancer predicted to be the most common cancer by 2030 you should consider having our specially trained nurses and prostate cancer educators at your wellness day.

The 2022 Hollard Daredevil Run – A great success!

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The 2022 Hollard Daredevil Run was was another huge success. The event takes place annually in September, which is prostate cancer awareness month. Thousands of men and boys, wearing their purple Daredevil speedos, run through peak hour trafc in
Johannesburg to raise awareness about prostate and testicular cancer. The funds raised are donated to The Prostate Cancer Foundation and CANSA.
After a two-year, lockdown-induced hiatus, the in-person event once again took place in September at Zoo Lake Sports Club, Johannesburg with over 2 300 men running through rush-hour trafc. The advent of Covid 19 meant that the event had to be held virtually for the past 2 years. Happily, this has actually increased participation by 1500 with neighbourhoods, schools, corporates and sports clubs arranging over 260 satellite runs around the country.

The Start at Zoo Lake Sports Club in Johannesburg

“We are blown away by the support we have received from around the country. The act of stripping down to nothing but a speedo is not only daunting for runners, but also challenges stereotypical male behaviour, which often stops men from tackling health issues,” says Heidi Brauer, Chief Marketing Ofcer at Hollard. “With this event, we are asking South African men to confront male cancers head-on by showing that they’re not afraid to run in a speedo, not afraid to talk about cancer and not afraid to get checked. Because catching these cancers early means better futures for those men unlucky enough to contract them, better futures for their families, and, ultimately, better futures for communities around the country.”

Patient Affairs Board vice-chairman, Thulani Sibisi with CEO Andrew Oberholzer 

“Running in just a speedo is something that asks a lot of men, more than most people understand. But dealing with cancer asks a great deal more. And that’s part of why this platform works so well in helping people understand the importance of catching these
cancers early”, says Warwick Bloom, Head of Group PR at Hollard.

Delegates at the South African Urology Association Congress in Bloemfontein warming up for an early morning Daredevil Run in Bloemfontein.

1 256 men have a free PSA test in September 2022

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PSA testing is the best way to ensure the early detection of prostate cancer

Astellas and The Prostate Cancer Foundation teamed up in September 2022  (Prostate Cancer Awareness Month) to provide free prostate specific antigen (PSA) testing.

twelve private hospitals took part in this initiative and a total of 1 256 PSA tests were carried out. The PSA test is a blood test to assist in the detection of prostate abnormalities. A high PSA score can be due to prostate cancer, an enlarged prostate, or an infection. The aim of this initiative was to raise awareness about the risks of prostate cancer and to encourage men to consider age and risk appropriate screening to ensure the early detection of prostate cancer. For many men this was the first opportunity that they had had to have a PSA test.

“We were overwhelmed with the turnout at some of the hospitals” commented The Prostate Cancer Foundation’s CEO, Andrew Oberholzer. “So processing the results took us longer than expected. Increasing access to prostate cancer screening is essential to reducing the high numbers of men who present at public hospitals with advanced prostate cancer so we are really hoping to be able to conduct more of these campaigns in 2023.”

 

 

A special thanks to Astellas Pharma for the funding provided to make this project possible.

 

 

 

Bruce Fordyce takes the test for prostate cancer

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Even guys who win the Comrades Marathon 9 times can get prostate cancer. That’s why Bruce Fordyce takes the test. He knows that prostate cancer that is  detected in the early stages is potentially curable. Check out the prostate cancer screening article in our information section to find out when you should start taking the test.