Rondebosch East residents who have lost friends and family to cancer held a fund-raiser for St Luke’s Combined Hospices, last Friday.
Armien Abrahams, one of the organisers, said they had all been affected by cancer in some way, him having lost close friends and his brother-in-law.
“This is why we decided to hold this fund-raiser in aid of St Luke’s Combined Hospices – for all the work they do with cancer patients and the support they give the patients and the family,” he said.
Speaking at the event, held at Vera School hall, St Luke’s Combined Hospice’s spiritual care coordinator, Patrick Paulse, said cancer was something that affected all, from the richest of the rich to the poorest of the poor.
He said they had found that people had the same questions when it came to cancer, shared the same struggles and fears.
“At St Luke’s we see it as our goal to care for people who are afflicted by this life-threatening illness. We do not promise to cure (no one can) but our job is to support the patients and their families in whatever way we can,” he said.
St Luke’s provides palliative care to patients, improving their quality of life, and supports their families.
“We are committed, and our people work hard at St Luke’s. We are moved by compassion for our people and appreciate the community who came out to support this event,” Mr Paulse said.
Chanelle April told how she had overcome breast cancer and had had a mastectomy. It had been hard for her family to come to terms with the diagnosis, she said.
“When people hear you have cancer, they immediately think that it’s over for you. I had to get my family to realise that it was not the end of the world because I didn’t feel like death was coming my way,” she said.