RAL Cares
Bobby Were, a male breast cancer survivor from the CANSA Polokwane was the guest speaker at the 2020 Roads Agency Limpopo Wellness Day, which coincided with the October Breast Cancer Awareness Month. His testimonial was on the importance of early detection, his journey on various treatment options and achieving positive results.
SINCERE RAL PRIORITISES
HEALTH AND WELLNESS OF ITS PUBLIC SERVANTS
n promoting cancer awareness among its staff members, Roads Agency Limpopo (RAL) held its annual Wellness Day in October 2020, during the Breast Cancer Awareness Month, to provide instructions on how to conduct self-tests - highlighting the importance of early detection among other preventive measures. Bobby Were, a breast cancer survivor from the Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) Polokwane, was invited to share with RAL staff members tips on surviving cancer, explain common and notable causes, treatment and personal well-being tips around cancer. Mr Were says his cancer journey began in 2006 when he felt a pea-size lump next to his right nipple while he was bathing. Upon feeling this anomaly, he called his wife to check on him quickly and she agreed that something was not right, thereby advising him to see a medical doctor.
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Mmileng Issue 4 of 2020
In spite of this advice, Mr Were hesitated to visit the doctors rooms for a period of two years. However, in 2008, while accompanying his wife to her doctor’s appointment, his wife’s doctor upon inspection (at the behest of the wife) suspected the ominous lump might be a warning sign of cancer, and sought second opinion. On referral in 2009, the tests were done by a surgeon (surgical oncologist) who confirmed it was indeed breast cancer. Mr Were says in order to overcome the cancer; he adhered to all treatment procedures as instructed by the doctors. One of the treatment options given to Mr Were, by the medical oncologists, was to undergo chemotherapy. “The chemo treatment was followed by five years of
