Mountain climber, RobbyKotjetin was the 17th South African to summit Mt. Everestin May 2009. His ‘Climb of Hope’ initiative raised fundsfor CHOC and awareness of lymphoma.

Being the adventurer he is andhaving a heart to help others,Robby is not about to put downhis climbing gear any time soon.He will be climbing again andthis time he has his sights set onMt.Kilimanjaro with lymphomasurvivors making up his climbingteam.In an effort to heighten the aware-ness of lymphoma amongstSouth African’s, Robby and histeam of lymphoma survivors andcelebrities aim to summit Africa’shighest peak in April 2010.This expedition will be Robby’s5th summit of Kilimanjaro, so histeam will be in safe hands.Show your support of this initia-tive and follow Robby by joiningthe ‘Kilimanjaro 2010’ Face-book group or email Robby atrgk@robby.co.zaEmail:info@plwc.org.za

Roche Products (Pty) Ltd in the

Contact: Eldré Strydom

World Lymphoma Awareness Day 20096 things to know about

N O 1 . 2 0 1 0

SURVIVORS TO CLIMB AFRICA’S HIGHEST PEAK 10 - YEAR CELEBRATION

10–year lymphoma survivor,Carl Liebenberg receivedmonoclonal antibody thera-py as part of his lymphomatreatment and has success-fully rebuilt his life since hisdiagnosis and treatment.

Liebenberg co-founder and di-rector of People Living with Can-cer (PLWC), and CEO of a localcompany based in Cape Town,was diagnosed with Non-Hodg-kin’s Lymphoma in 1998.To celebrate his 10 year sur-vivorship, Liebenberg ran theNew York marathon. “Its greatto have experienced cancer asit changed me for the better. It’salso great to be alive!” he said.Liebenberg recalls the day wherethere was finally real hope.“The end of a dark journey wascoming to a happy ending. So Istarted thinking about my future.Realizing there was a greaterdegree of certainty about whatlay ahead, I started to reflect onthe various promises I made tomyself on what I would do if Igot back on my feet.There were a number of aspectsof my life I wanted to change,but there was one thing in par-ticular I wanted to do. I wantedto help others deal with theuncertainty of what lay aheadwhen they were diagnosed withcancer. But most importantly,I wanted to be a beacon ofhope. I wanted to show peoplethat cancer wasn’t necessarily adeath knell. It can be beaten.”From this desire, PLWC wasborn in South Africa.If you are a lymphoma survivorand would like to share yourstory in this Newsletter, contactCharmaine Nundeekasen on082 828 0283.

Follow Carl’s blog, Com-rades for Cancer Buddies athttp://c4cb.co.za/

Survivors to climb Africa’shighest peak 10 - year CelebrationNon-Hodgkin’s LymphomaNew cancer call centrelaunchedCancer NGO’s making adifferenceBecome a Lymphoma Buddy Caring for someone withLymphoma

Carl running the New York marathon

Phone:076 775 6099 or0861 ASK NOW (275 669)

DURBAN LYMPHOMA PATIENT GROUP

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WORLD LYMPHOMA AWARENESS DAY 2009

MEDIA LAUNCH, CAPE TOWN

World Lymphoma Awareness Day (WLAD)is a global initiative hosted by the LymphomaCoalition (LC), a non-profit network organiza-tion of 36 lymphoma patient groups from30 countries around the world. WLAD wasinitiated in 2004 to raise public awarenessof both Hodgkin’s and Non-Hodgkin’sLymphoma in terms of symptom recognition,early diagnosis and treatment.To celebrate WLAD in 2009 a media launchwas held in Cape Town on 15th September2009, where media were educated aboutlymphoma by oncologist Dr. Zainab Mo-hamed. Lymphoma survivor, Carl Liebenbergshared his experience and challenges indealing with the disease followed by anawe inspiring presentation by Robby Kojetin.Robby summited Mt. Everest in May 2009to raise funds for CHOC and awarenessof lymphoma. Prior to leaving for his climb,the Department of Health presented Robbywith a “Beacon of Hope’ lamp to take withhim as a message of hope for those patientsdealing with lymphoma. Robby presentedthe lamp back to Mr. Jimmy Ledwaba fromthe Western Cape Department of Health atthe media launch.Events like these are necessary to make themedia and public aware of the fact thatlymphoma is a type of cancer and highlightthe importance of early detection of signsand symptoms which are often similar tothose of flu.World Lymphoma Awareness Day takesplace globally and is an annual event heldevery year on the 15th September. For moreinformation on WLAD, visit www.lymphoma-coalition.org

EDUCATIONAL BREAKFASTHELD IN DURBAN

With World Lymphoma Awareness Day be-ing on Tuesday 15th September 2009, theKwaZulu Natal Lymphoma Support Groupdecided to celebrate on Saturday 19th Sep-tember in the form of an educational break-fast. It was held in the Central Baptist Churchhall in Westville, and we were delighted towelcome over 50 survivors and their familiesto the event.We were fortunate to have Dr Diane Pillay,a popular Durban oncologist, as our guestspeaker, and she delivered an enlighteningand informative talk with slides on lymphomawhich was well received by all present.After a lively question and answer session, Jean van der Merwe of CANSA spoke ofthe upcoming CANSA Relay for Life (West-ville) event, wherein our Lymphoma Groupwill be playing a major role. We will beresponsible for the ‘Luminaria’ and openingceremony in this important CANSA fundrais-ing exercise.After the formalities were over, we all en-joyed a really delicious breakfast and lots ofgood fellowship.A sincere vote of thanks must be extended toRoche for their generous donation towardsthe costs, and of course to Charmaine Nun-deekasen and the Committee for all the hardwork they put into this successful celebration.

Frank VincentChairman,KwaZulu Natal Lymphoma Support Group

KZN LYMPHOMA SUPPORTGROUP 2010

The KZN Lymphoma Support Group is anopen group for any new or existing lym-phoma patients, their families and friends.We provide education on lymphoma signs &symptoms, diagnosis, treatment options andoffer support. The group is run by lymphomapatients and survivors.At present we are the only support group inSouth Africa dedicated to supporting andeducating lymphoma patients.

KZN meeting dates 2010

20th February10th April12th June11th September (World Lymphoma Aware-ness Day)20th NovemberContact Charmaine Nundeekasen on 082828 0283 for more details.

Survivor Alan Gouveia welcomes guests to the WLADmeetingChairman, Frank Vincent (far right) celebrates WLADwith other survivors

6 THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT NON-HODGKIN’S LYMPHOMA

1. Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma is oftenreferred to as NHL2. NHL is a type of cancer that effectsyour white blood cells3. Your white blood cells are alsocalled lymphocytes4. NHL has two main categories:indolent and aggressive5. There are treatments for all types of NHL6. Your treatment and outlook de-pend on your type of NHL

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CANCER NGO’S MAKING A DIFFERENCE

CAMPAIGNING FOR CANCER

Campaigning for Cancer is an advocacyorganisation formed in 2008 to give SouthAfrican patients and those affected bycancer a voice. As a fully-fledged NGO,Campaigning for Cancer lobbies for the pro-motion and protection of the rights of patientsand those affected by cancer with regardto policy, healthcare costs and healthcaredelivery for cancer control. Campaigning forCancer collaborates with corporate law firm,Werksmans Incorporating Jan S. de Villiers,in a “walk together” approach of activeengagement around cancer patients’ health-care rights and healthcare law in general.For more information, please visit

www.campaign4cancer.co.za.

PEOPLE LIVING WITHCANCER

PLWC is a national non-profit organisationwhich was established in 2002 by cancersurvivors Carl Liebenberg and Linda Greeff.For the past seven years the organisation hasset about developing volunteer counsellingguidelines that are aligned with internationalprotocols and has resulted in one of the mostestablished volunteer psycho-social pro-grammes in the country. PLWC offers a freebuddy support network (Cancer Buddies)where cancer patients can interact with andreceive practical advice and support fromcancer survivors who have a similar profile,disease and treatment protocol.For more information, please visit

www.plwc.org.za

NEW CANCER CALLCENTRE LAUNCHED

Two of South Africa’s prominentcancer NGOs have joined forces tocreate a cancer call centre assist-ing patients and their families withsupport, information, advice andadvocacy.People Living With Cancer - apsycho-social cancer support or-ganisation - and Campaigning for Cancer - a cancer patient advocacyorganization have always had agood relationship and in the pastthey have often referred patients toone-another. It was realised that ajoint call centre would serve bothorganisations’ objectives well, andby combining their knowledge andresources, they could assist cancer patients and their families moreeffectively.When a person is diagnosed withcancer they are often overwhelmedwith limited support from family andfriends who are inexperienced todeal with the situation. If a patienthas a question about their rights or if they feel they’re not getting thebest information or not receivingthe treatment they need they canchallenge these decisions. Whatmakes 0861-ASK-NOW differentfrom other call centers is that pa-tients can get access to support andadvocacy at the same time.The need for the call centre is veryclear. There is currently a lack of an affordable and reliable centralplace where cancer patients canget all the information and supportthey need for themselves and their families. (Extract from Press Release)

Call: 0861-ASK-NOW (275-669)

BECOME A LYMPHOMA BUDDY

Make your experience as a person liv-ing with Lymphoma relevant by givingsomething back to new newly diag-nosed lymphoma patients – become a‘Buddy’. As a ‘Buddy’ volunteer, youwill need to be motivated by your ownexperience to help others in a similar situation. If you believe you can com-municate in an open, sensitive andcaring way then you meet the criteria!People Living with Cancer are looking totrain lymphoma or other cancer survi-vors who have learned from their ownexperiences.

Reasons to become a buddy:

• Provide hope to others facing thisnew challenge• Your story can assist new patientsstarting their journey with cancer • Cancer survivorship is not easy, andthe support Buddies provide toeach other is important• Cancer Buddies assist new cancer patients to feel empowered and startteaching new patients to be “patientactive”• Cancer Buddies advocate for cancer patients rights by giving voice totheir concerns and fearsTo find out more about volunteering tobecome a Buddy, contact Eldre Strydomat People Living with Cancer, Cell: 076775 6099, Email: eldre@plwc.org.za