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90 Years
Thanks to People like You

Greetings Friend

If there’s one good thing that the COVID-19 pandemic has done, it’s made us all pause – to reflect, and to count our reasons for gratitude.

Here at CANSA it’s no different.

We’re grateful that we’re part of 90 years of caring service to cancer patients and their loved ones.

We’re grateful for the gratitude shown by our patients and their families which affirms that we’re doing what’s needed, and makes us want to do more.

We’re grateful to those staff members who man our many CANSA departments for their loyalty, commitment and dedication.

Elize Joubert

We’re grateful for technology which increases our outreach, particularly as COVID-19 continues to be with us.

We’re grateful to our many wonderful volunteers who give of their time and talent whilst asking for nothing in return.

We’re grateful for all suffering lessened, and every life saved.

Most of all, we’re grateful – enormously grateful – that supporters like you show your compassion so often and so generously.

We’re grateful, every day!

Yours sincerely,

Elize Joubert Chief Executive Officer

90 Years of CANSA’s Caring and Service, thanks to People like You!

Please celebrate with us as we thank you and show appreciation for your part in this milestone of caring service to cancer patients and their families.

You’ve played, and continue to play, a greater role than you can imagine.

From small beginnings in 1931, it’s friends like you who have ensured that the organisation has had the means to grow and evolve throughout the years to what it is today. Thank you for the privilege of your partnership and for the services we’re able to continue to offer.

Those people who believe in the significance of numbers say that 90 stands for humanitarianism, compassion and philanthropy, as well as wholeness and inclusiveness.

Even without believing that numbers have a significance, the quoted ethos around the number 90 is right on target as you’ll see below in the many ways in which your donations help.

Please make a point of frequently visiting our website for updates during this milestone year – it’s your milestone year too!

If you’d like to support our work, you can do so by clicking here.

A Special ’Thank You’ in Pictures

We asked for your help in giving care packs to patients in financial need. And you gave it, so very generously. This is a big ‘Thank You’ in words, and some pictures to make your kindness even more real. You gave more than a care pack, you also gave joy.

CANSA Education in Action

Cancer is prevalent not only in adults, but also in children, where the warning signs are not always known.

A CANSA TLC team recently hosted talks at a junior school attended by the student leaders from each class (for COVID safety precautions). This resulted in colouring books and crayons being given to the kids in the TLC Paediatric Oncology Wards. Children also have big hearts!

The CANSA Polokwane Paediatric Oncology Ward is one of our TLC units. Situated at the Pietersburg Provincial Hospital in the province of Limpopo, it offers in-house accommodation to parents, guardians and caregivers of children undergoing cancer treatment in the ward.

The facility has 33 beds for children in three large wards, and six isolation rooms. An extra 20 beds allow mothers to sleep in the ward to be close to and support their children.

Since opening, the space provides consulting rooms for a Paediatric Oncologist, and has expanded to include a school classroom, library, and out-patient facility.

Even though meals are provided by the hospital, supplies run short and special needs, along with nausea, need to be catered for.

Catering for children from Limpopo province and neighbouring countries, the ward faces daily challenges, and is in need of volunteers and sponsors.

If you’d like to support our TLC team through a donation, please click here.

Testimonies

Some of the many testimonies to your kindness and the differences that you make in the lives of people living with cancer…

“As a young mother of a little baby diagnosed with cancer it was hard to accept and deal with. But with CANSA’s continued support, things have become easier and less stressful just knowing that there’s someone who cares.” (Mother of a child in TLC care)

“The CANSA volunteer was a true angel. A definite blessing for my father who suffered from liver cancer, as well as my sister and myself as we cared for him in his last days. She did her utmost to help us in these trying times, and we’ll be forever grateful.” (The Human family)

“CANSA is there for me giving me support and helping me to hold on to hope.”
(R. Venter)

“CANSA stood by us as a family in those last midnight hours. We just want to say ‘thank you’ for the beautiful and loving way in which you supported us. May you be blessed with good health and energy in going forward with your mission of caring.” (The Steyn Family)

“I was blessed to have been a resident at CANSA Tipuana Care Home for the duration of my treatment and follow up visits. The CANSA staff as well as the other patients were all part of my healing process. Today, I can only pray that all cancer patients have the same support that I had.” (Henk Hills)

“Thank you all for the words of encouragement, the support group community really does make a big difference in how we make sense of everything. It makes me feel that I’m not alone in the struggle that no one understands unless they’ve walked through it.” (Melissa Manaia)

“We’d like to thank the CANSA volunteers who always took the time to check in on our son by means of visits, calls, messages, etc. whilst having cancer and going through chemo and radiation treatments. Our son, Jason, is in remission now, and we are forever grateful for your support.” (Marianna and Steven English)

“I’ve been in remission for the past 16 years after being diagnosed with breast cancer. From the first day of my operation in December 2004, a CANSA volunteer was there for me. When I joined CANSA in Nelspruit I learned how much CANSA really cares for their volunteers and survivors.” (Global Hero of Hope, Christell Strauss)

“Your counselling was extremely helpful and I wouldn’t have been able to process my grief without it. I felt free to share my story and be understood on my path. The space of trust allowed me to speak openly without ever feeling any judgment, only support. It was a deeply healing experience.” (Bereavement Counselling Recipient)

If you’d like to show someone with cancer that you care, please click below to make your donation.

Could You . . . Would You . . ?

Consider celebrating this anniversary year of 90, by giving a monthly donation of R90, or multiples thereof? A monthly donation would, most importantly, allow us to help more cancer patients, and also give the security of an income we can rely on for future planning towards greater milestone years. Thank you…

Bringing Relief to Children with Cancer

Thank you for reducing the trauma and pain for children with cancer…

After a period of time on chemotherapy treatment the sight of another needle brings about a tearful, sometimes near hysterical response from young children.

Ongoing treatment and pricks can scar and cause collapsing of veins. But with a broviac and a port implant, a good vein is always painlessly available for the duration of treatment.

Ports and broviacs are called central venous catheters. The catheter is a soft narrow tube that is placed into a large vein near the heart. The other end of the catheter differs according to what medicine or fluid is being administered.

A port and broviac removes all fear and pain for a child. Thank you for this truly precious gift.

If you’d like to help ease the pain for a child with cancer, by donating towards broviac ports, please click here.

The Gift that Costs You Nothing Now

This is the gift of a bequest to CANSA in your Will. It’s a promise to the future; it will become a memorial to your kindness; and it costs you nothing now.

Should a bequest to CANSA be a gift that you’d like to consider giving, please feel free to talk to us in total confidence. And telling us about your intentions is an extra gift, in that it allows us to thank you appropriately.

“Someone is sitting in the shade today, because someone planted a tree a long time ago.” (Warren Buffet)

If you’d like to discuss leaving a bequest to CANSA please email bequests@cansa.org.za

Hair is Part of Our Appearance and Our Persona

Hair also protects our sensitive scalps. And losing our hair can be genuinely traumatic, especially for women.

During chemotherapy an entire head of hair may be hired by patients for as long as the wig may be needed. A small admin fee of R100 per wig is asked for the upkeep and care of wigs so donations are appreciated. For someone planning to cut off their long tresses, it’s also possible to donate their hair which our wig maker will turn into the perfect answer to hair loss for a cancer patient.

Last year a patient popped in at the CANSA Care Centre in Port Elizabeth to get a wig and had this to say: “Thanks a lot, I really appreciate the new look, you just made my day after a round of chemo. No more beanies and doek for now.”

Keep us going for another 90 years!

Your support is touching the lives of those affected by cancer every day through us….

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