Latest news with #ProjectFlamingo
The Herald
21-07-2025
- Health
- The Herald
Giving hope to breast cancer sufferers
In a powerful show of compassion, Project Flamingo launched a campaign called Make Room For Her at Livingstone Hospital on Saturday. The campaign is aimed at addressing the backlog in breast cancer surgeries in the country's public hospitals. Despite their long schedules and call times, 15 volunteer doctors came together to provide seven women with much-needed mastectomy surgeries. According to Michael Brombacher, the doctor leading the surgeries and the campaign, the project will drastically decrease the waiting time for patients needing operations. 'Before we started this project, patients were waiting a long time for surgeries,' he said. 'To get the diagnosis that you had breast cancer, and then be told you had to wait three months before you could start treatment, was a problem. 'Now we have been able to bring that waiting period down to an achievable time frame. 'You can see that sense of comfort on the patients' faces. 'The other aspect is the teamwork among the young doctors, and seeing them give their time and energy to help patients, and not be paid for it, that for me is huge. 'It also shows me that healthcare is in good hands.' The campaign has been rolled out in Gqeberha, Cape Town, George, East London and Mdantsane. It has brought together a group of volunteer surgeons, anaesthetists and nursing staff to assist women who have been stuck on waiting lists for breast cancer treatments. Project Flamingo is a nonprofit and is committed to providing holistic support for women battling breast cancer in the public healthcare sector. Since it started in 2010, the team has performed more than 1,800 breast cancer surgeries across the country. The chief executive and founder of the organisation, Dr Liana Roodt, said it reflected the true spirit of Nelson Mandela. 'We are not just commemorating a rich history left by a remarkable man, we are changing lives. 'There is no greater way to honour a great leader than to proactively mirror his legacy of positive change. 'We are creating space for women to be heard, treated and to reclaim their health and dignity. 'Let's all 'make room for her' and for each other by the way we talk, think and act. 'Timely and dignified cancer care is not a privilege, it is a basic human right which should be protected and claimed.' Angelita Davids, 48, was one of the patients to experience the positive impact of the campaign on her life. After her diagnosis in May, she was added to the list of beneficiaries of the campaign. She expressed how her life had already changed for the better. 'My mother had cancer, but I had no signs or symptoms,' she said. 'I just went for a routine check-up and they told me I must go for a mammogram. 'I had no money to do that, but they called me a few weeks later and told me I was part of this campaign. 'This is such an awesome programme. 'I was very scared about the surgery and coming here, but when I found out it would be a group of ladies who also have breast cancer, I relaxed because I knew I wouldn't be alone. 'I have made friends for life here.' The Herald
IOL News
20-07-2025
- Health
- IOL News
Celebrating Mandela Day: 39 women receive life-saving surgeries through Project Flamingo
Project Flamingo's team came together to perform lifesaving surgeries for women battling breast cancer on Mandela Day. Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers Thirty-nine women underwent lifesaving surgeries thanks to Project Flamingo for Mandela Day. Project Flamingo is a South African non-profit organisation that supports women battling breast cancer in the public healthcare sector. Project Flamingo CEO and founder, Dr Liana Roodt, said Mandela Day 2025 was a record-breaking year for them from a surgical standpoint. 'The most surgeries that we've done on Mandela Day previously were 35 surgeries. So this year we managed to do 39. We aimed to do 40, but unfortunately, one patient had to be postponed for medical reasons,' Roodt said. Surgeries were performed at Groote Schuur Hospital, Tygerberg Hospital, George Regional Hospital, Livingstone Hospital, and Cecilia Makiwane Hospital in the Western Cape and Eastern Cape on Saturday. Roodt said that this Mandela Day, they wanted to push themselves once again to do as much as they could in honour of Nelson Mandela, a great man, and they did that. A Record-Breaking Day: 39 women receive essential surgeries, showcasing the power of community and commitment to healthcare. Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers 'We didn't make our 40 surgeries, but we came pretty close… but I think we've accomplished everything that we set out to accomplish and more,' Roodt said. What also made it special was launching the Make Room for Her campaign, to educate people about what else needs to be done in the system besides pushing for more timely surgeries for their breast cancer patients, Roodt explained. There is a need to create space for her in budgets, the theatre, and the clinic. Furthermore, this inclusion should extend to conversations, policy, and various other areas. Roodt said Project Flamingo aims to expedite and dignify patient treatment by intervening at each stage of the pathway. 'This year was a testament again to what happens if ordinary South Africans decide they want to come together and they want to do something, because to pull all that number of big surgeries takes tremendous team effort and an incredible commitment from so many people, and to see people once again just coming together,' Roodt said. She said that at Groote Schuur Hospital, two patients received mastectomies with reconstruction. Roodt said the female surgical ward at Livingstone Hospital was in a dire state. There were no curtains around the bed, no bed linen, and the ward looked quite sad and neglected. 'Our volunteer team went in there this week and made the ward beautiful. Curtains were hung, bed linen was provided, basins were replaced, mirrors were put up, and it looks like a beautiful, healing and dignified space,' Roodt said. 'That is something that we haven't done before, and it's unique, and I think we're very proud of it.' Project Flamingo pushes boundaries to provide timely and compassionate care for breast cancer patients. Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers Breast cancer survivor and Project Flamingo volunteer Megan Jacobs discovered a lump in her right breast in September 2023. She consulted her GP and went for a mammogram and ultrasound. In October 2023, she underwent her first biopsy. In November 2023, at 34, she was diagnosed with triple-negative breast cancer. 'It was one of the hardest moments of my life. Although breast cancer runs in my family, it was a shock because I was young. I thought I was living a healthy lifestyle,' Jacobs said. She said she leaned on God and had support from her family and fiancée. Jacobs underwent eight rounds of chemotherapy and decided to have a bilateral mastectomy, but her surgery was a bilateral nipple-sparing mastectomy. 'Through my journey, every follow-up or everything that I do, just waking up every day, is just a reminder of how far I've come and that I have been given a second chance. Last Mandela Day, Jacobs had the first surgery of the day. On Mandela Day, the Project Flamingo team united to perform life-saving surgeries for women fighting breast cancer. Image: Armand Hough/Independent Newspapers 'Project Flamingo gave me hope when I needed it the most. They have held me during the most vulnerable time in my life. They also made it possible for me to have a life-changing surgery,' Jacobs said. She said volunteering was like a full circle moment because she could give back and honour the gift she was given. 'I went to see the patients on Friday, and then I was also at the surgeries yesterday (Saturday),' Jacobs said. 'Chatting to these patients, I could see myself in them. Sharing my story just gave them peace and hope. 'I feel like I now have some form of purpose, and I'm just so privileged and so honoured to be a part of an organisation that does life-altering surgeries, and you know that helps women in need,' Jacobs said. [email protected]
