The tireless work of South African non-profit organisation Reach for Recovery (R4R) is funded each year by the Power of Pink campaign, a South African Mushroom Farmers’ Association’s (SAMFA) initiative. R1 from every pink punnet of fresh mushrooms sold nationally at Pick n Pay stores during October is donated to R4R’s Ditto Project.  The sole objective of this very special project is to provide free silicone prostheses to breast cancer survivors who cannot afford reconstruction after the life altering and heartbreaking reality of a mastectomy.

Launched in 2011, the Power of Pink campaign has resulted in just under 8000 silicone prostheses provided to financially strapped breast cancer survivors at a cost of more than R5,5 million. “To our astonishment,” exclaims Stephné Jacobs, Reach for Recovery’s National Chairperson, “2020 saw the highest amount raised since the campaign’s inception.  Big hearted South Africans contributed just under R700 000.00 despite their own financial hardships brought on by a year of lockdowns and job cuts. We and the Ditto Project recipients have been truly humbled by this generosity.”

“We couldn’t be prouder of our association with Reach for Recovery’s Ditto Project,” adds SAMFA Chairperson, Ross Richardson. “The dedication of every R4R volunteer – a breast cancer survivor herself – and the immense kindness of all South Africans who support the campaign is such restorative testimony to the goodness that lives in people.”

“Courage is grace under pressure,” said Ernest Hemingway in a 1929 interview with poet Dorothy Parker for The New Yorker magazine. He, of course, was right. Over these difficult Covid-19 years, it’s a mantra that has fuelled and furthered R4R’s most delicate of work, performed out of the public eye. “Lockdown regulations and the vulnerable health of breast cancer survivors in need brought about new challenges for R4R and our Ditto Project,” explains Stephné. “But being survivors ourselves, we realised very quickly that we could and must continue with our services in other ways! As we have done for 53 years, we continued our work with the assistance of advanced technology.

Our organisation’s Peer Support Services passionately offered ongoing much needed support via telephone, WhatsApp, and video conferencing. I am proud to be able to say that we were able to comfort women who not only went through mastectomies but who would also have had to live through the dreadful experience in complete isolation if we were not at the other end for them!”

Whilst fresh mushrooms and breast cancer have a strong humanitarian connection in South Africa, there is another scientific link between fresh mushrooms and the fight against breast cancer. In 2010, the Beckman Institute at the City of Hope Cancer Centre in California found that eating just 10g of mushrooms a day more than halved people’s risk of developing breast cancer.

That’s means eating just one fresh mushroom a day, a staggeringly easy step in self-care to avoid the ravages of such a terrible disease.  So, in 2021 let’s once again take courage together, for each of our own health and the restoration of breast cancer survivors. Let’s once again purchase fresh mushrooms in pink punnets at Pick n Pay stores from September 20 this year in an extended Power of Pink campaigns that will run until the end of October.

For more information, please contact Gina McLoughlin on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or 0824137538.

Alternatively go to SAMFA’s website: www.mushroominfo.co.za

New platform set to transform access to sexual healthcare across South Africa with a game-changing prescription and delivery service.

Local entrepreneur leaves London law firm to tackle outdated healthcare system in South Africa by launching a subscription-based, hassle-free and affordable platform for sexual healthcare needs. - Cape Town, South Africa - July 2021

THE PROBLEM

It’s 2021. We can order everything and anything online; and yet accessing vital, everyday sexual health products in South Africa is a long, tedious and expensive process. Consider the current system women go through to procure birth control: take time off work for an appointment at an awkward time, queue in traffic, flip through 2-year-old magazines in a waiting room, pay the doctor, queue in more traffic to the pharmacy, pay for more parking, stand in line, pay for the prescription… and repeat the last steps every month to collect your medication, and repeat the whole process every 3-6 months when your prescription runs out. On average the whole ordeal can cost around R1200 for 3 months and several grey hairs. Seems a bit outdated, doesn’t it?

Inconvenience and cost aren’t the only factors limiting access to sexual healthcare. Across South Africa, contraceptives, menstruation and sexual health carry stigmas that aren’t easy to shake. A lack of sexual and reproductive health (SRH) education provokes shaming, fear and sexual violence, and furthers the taboo of topics that need open conversations and acceptance within our communities. These obstacles are further exacerbated by the effects of COVID-19. Job losses have caused financial strains on individuals and their families, SRH clinics were closed to make room for COVID patients, services halted and fundings cut. Additionally, the fear of the pandemic and risk of infection has deterred patients from attending their regular check-ups, doctor appointments and collecting medication from pharmacies. 

THE SOLUTION

Founded by London lawyer Alexander Schmid, who has returned to his home country to address the above problems after an ex-girlfriend complained about the tedious and expensive road to birth control, Contro plans to tackle the inequalities South Africans face to access sexual healthcare. Partnered with a team of skilled developers and forward-thinking, specialist doctors, Schmid has designed and built a game-changing online platform that is about to revolutionise the healthcare industry in South Africa. Launching nationwide in partnership with South Africa's largest national courier pharmacy Medipost, Contro simplifies and streamlines an affordable route to sexual healthcare for all. Seems too good to be true! Customers choose their product of choice on Contro’s webpage, answer a short and secure online health questionnaire, and book a once-off video consultation with one of Contro’s licenced and registered Partner Doctors at a time that suits them.

The Partner Doctor will assess and answer any questions the customer may have, before prescribing, in their expert impartial opinion, the medication best suited to the customer’s individual needs and financial capabilities. Working as a ‘cancel anytime’ subscription-based model, customers’ medication is dispensed and delivered free of charge by Medipost every month in discreet packaging. Contro’s platform automatically sends the prescriptions to the Partner Doctors for approval, saving the customer from frequently re-visiting the doctor. All in all, Contro’s platform can save their customers on average R400 every three months while offering you the same security and on-hand support you’d get from your family doctor. Furthermore, Contro’s service is discreet, non-judgemental and non-biased. All Partner Doctors are qualified, currently practising and personally vetted based on their aligned belief to increase accessibility to sexual healthcare. Customers can also use their existing medical aid plan to cover their medication costs.

THE VISION

“74% of millennials prefer telehealth visits to in-person doctors exams” (GlobalMed)The launch of Contro coincides with a general global trend popularising telemedicine and online medical services. Utilising technology allows for the provision of remote services aimed at replacing or supplementing existing in-person clinical offerings. Telemedicine primarily offers convenience from the comfort of your own home and is cost-effective while still offering the highest-quality medical assessments. The ease of online communications also increases patient engagement by encouraging more frequent conversations between patient and doctor, while simultaneously making follow-ups effortless. The value of a platform like Contro to a country like South Africa, where existing processes are outdated, expensive and time-consuming, could mark the seminal inauguration of a much-needed modernised medical offering across the country.

Launching with an offering of birth control and erectile dysfunction treatment, Contro facilitates access to over 35 brands of the contraceptive pill and ED medication through their Partner Pharmacy Medipost. Contro plans to expand its offering to other sexual health and confidence products to give their customers' access to hair loss treatment, preventative HIV treatment (PrEP), STI testing kits and thrush treatment. Contro is driven to change the negative narrative surrounding these products, and empower every individual with the choice of protecting themselves and their sexual health at any stage of their life. Contro is an online prescription and delivery service for sexual health and confidence products.

Launched in May 2021, Contro’s game-changing subscription-based platform offers customers an affordable, convenient and discreet means to access and take control of their sexual healthcare. Contro is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa.

Webstie - Contro.co.za

Interstitial cystitis, also known as painful bladder syndrome, is a chronic condition often misdiagnosed as a urinary tract infection and potentially treatable through a number of interventions.

The Urology Hospital, Pretoria, says interstitial cystitis is extremely debilitating and dramatically affects one’s quality of life. It may also cause emotional stress and problems with sexual intimacy.

Symptoms include a feeling of immense pressure and pain in the bladder or pelvis, as well as the constant need to urinate. The pain is often relieved after urinating.

Other symptoms – which differ from person to person -- include difficulty urinating and frequent urination. Pain in the scrotum, penis, testes, or between the anus and scrotum are typical male symptoms.  Women may experience pain between the vagina and anus as well as pelvic pain.

Many of these are also symptoms of a urinary tract infection, so it is important to consult a urologist for an accurate diagnosis, says Dr Preena Sivsankar from The Urology Hospital.  Misdiagnosis may result in the unnecessary use of antibiotics which could result in antibiotic resistance, while failing to treat the interstitial cystitis.

The number of people suffering from interstitial cystitis in South Africa is not known, but it affects women slightly more than men. In the United States, it affects between three and eight million women and between one and four million men.  

The exact causes are unknown, so treatments may vary. Improvement in symptoms may come from a change in diet and lifestyle and fluid intake. Medication and certain procedures may also assist.

Sivsankar says interstitial cystitis can be diagnosed through a pelvic exam, a urine test, a cystoscopy, and a bladder biopsy.  A urodynamic study is also useful to exclude other conditions. 

“There is no simple treatment. If you have symptoms, call The Urology Hospital or consult your urologist who will work with you on a treatment regime”, said Sivsankar.

For more information, contact 012 423-4000 or SMS the word INFO and your email address to 33000 (SMS charged at R1.50).

Vasectomies are a safe and effective form of contraception for men and fears that they may contribute to cancer are unfounded, according to research.

A vasectomy, also known as “the snip”, is a common form of contraception in many countries and involves a surgical procedure to cut the supply of sperm to the semen by blocking the tube (vas deferens) through which sperm normally passes from each testicle.

“Before getting a vasectomy, men must be certain they don’t want to father a child in the future,” said Dr Odion Aire from The Urology Hospital, Pretoria.

Aire said a vasectomy is generally simple to perform, safe and won’t negatively affect sex drive.

Vasectomies were previously thought to be associated with a small increased risk of prostate cancer but a study of over three million men, the largest of its kind, has shown that a vasectomy won’t increase prostate cancer risk.

“This review found no association between vasectomy and high-grade, advanced-stage, or fatal prostate cancer,” the study by US and Canadian researchers found.

Aire, a urologist, said vasectomies were one of the best forms of birth control after abstinence, with a success rate of over 99%. He said modern surgical methods could take around 30 minutes and may involve the "no-scalpel" method, whereby a puncture is made through the scrotum. Tubes are then accessed without having to make an incision.

Alternatively, a scalpel may be used to make one or two small incisions for access points through which the procedure is performed.

“A vasectomy is a routine and quick procedure which we do regularly at The Urology Hospital and generally does not require overnight stay,” he said, adding that the procedure can be reversed but the surgery is a little more complicated than the vasectomy.

For more information, contact 012 423-4000 or SMS the word INFO and your email address to 33000 (SMS charged at R1.50).

Robotic surgery is set for dramatic global growth due to an increasing incidence of chronic diseases and the success of the minimally invasive technology in treating these, according to a new report. In 2013 The Urology Hospital, Pretoria, became the first institution in South Africa to acquire a robotic surgical system and has to date performed about 1 800 robotic procedures, by far the majority of the country’s total number -- mostly prostatectomies (removal of cancerous prostate glands).

Other robotically assisted operations at the hospital include partial and full nephrectomies (removal of cancerous kidneys) and cystectomies (removal of the bladder) with urinary reconstruction. The technology is set to be applied to gynaecological, pelvic floor, colo-rectal and hernia procedures in the future.

The robotics report by Global Market Insights, notes that increased suffering from chronic disease, coupled with growing patient preference for minimally invasive procedures to prevent post-operative trauma and complications, is driving demand for robotic surgery.

A separate study says that by next year, 80% of radical prostatectomies in the US will be performed robotically. A scientific review last year showed that robotic surgery provides better functional results than conventional procedures in the removal of cancerous prostate glands. Urologist, Dr Hugo van der Merwe, said research shows that just over 23% of all South African men will be diagnosed with prostate cancer in their lifetime, adding: “robotic surgery is dramatically helping improve the treatment of prostate cancer by reducing the side effects and lowering levels of incontinence and impotence significantly compared to open surgery.”

The Urology Hospital, Pretoria, is the only specialised hospital of its kind in the country, comprising 24 urologists, 11 of whom are trained in robotic surgery – the highest concentration of robotic surgeons in the country.

The Hospital also houses the only robotic training facility in the country with three qualified robotic proctors available to train future robotic surgeons. For more information, contact 012 423-4000 or SMS the word INFO and your email address to 33000 (SMS charged at R1.50).

-- ENDS --

For media info and interviews, contact Farah Manuel or Craig Doonan on 021 785 3683 or on 076 051 4233 or This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

For all other info, contact Narisscia Erasmus on 012 423 4069, email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Visit www.urology.co.za and follow The Urology Hospital, Pretoria on Facebook.

Algoa FM has received an award for the support it provides to promoting health in the Eastern Cape.

The Livingstone Tertiary Hospital Service Excellence Award presented on Thursday, November 23 by Eastern Cape health MEC Dr Pumza Dyantyi to Algoa FM managing director Dave Tiltmann was in recognition of the impact of the annual Algoa FM Big Walk for Cancer.The walk is the biggest mass family participation event in the Eastern Cape, and one of the oldest.

The Livingstone Tertiary Hospital Service Excellence Award serves to recognise employees and organisations that make meaningful contributions towards health in the Eastern Cape.“We are deeply honored to receive recognition for the many years of service that we have delivered to the Eastern Cape Department of Health with the Big Walk for Cancer,” says Tiltmann.“

"A highlight of our association with the MEC Dr Dyantyi and her department for the past three years is certainly receiving this certificate of recognition.”

How can Hospitals protect themselves against the spread of Ebola?

With over 4,900 deaths from Ebola since it's outbreak, it's not a surprise that Western Cape hospitals are preparing should a case be found in South Africa. Particle Science has worked with a number of hospitals in The Western Cape and Gauteng region to make sure that their environment are controlled and up to standard.

6 days ago Eye Witness News covered the announcement by Tygerberg Hospital that they have "all systems in place should Ebola hit South Africa." Tygerberg Hospital has specialist equipment and isolation wards, also known as infectious disease wards, which will be used if any Ebola cases are detected in South Africa. While there are no cases of the deadly virus in the country, authorities aren't taking any chances and have put in place a plan. The hospital's storage room is filled with plastic protective gear like safety goggles, gloves and gumboots. All this will be needed to protect health workers if there is an Ebola outbreak. Isolation boxes to treat patients that need to be transported and special body bags are also on hand.

It is important, however, for all hospitals to have the correct safety equipment and protective gear should there be a need for cases to be treated. The key to the effectiveness of BSL-4 personal protective equipment (PPE) comes down to two things: One is the impenetrability of the material of which the suit is constructed. They’re very tough, heavy flexible polymers that one would have to work very hard to puncture or cut. Two is the High-efficiency Particulate Air (HEPA) filter; forced-air, powered units which provide filtered air to the individual in the suit. There is no chance for the intrusion of ambient air. A decent HEPA filter in good repair will filter out viruses. Many BSL-4 suits used in laboratory applications actually have hoses that provide dedicated airflow from outside the work area, forcing the worker to remain tethered to their air supply.

"It is imperative that these filters be tested and are in good working order" 

"It is imperative that these filters be tested and are in good working order" says Eric Lundberg, founder and CEO of Particle Science (Pty) Ltd. HEPA filters are critical in the prevention of the spread of airborne bacterial and viral organisms and, therefore, infection. Typically, medical-use HEPA filtration systems also incorporate high-energy ultra-violet light units to kill off the live bacteria and viruses trapped by the filter media. Testing of the quality of the air inside theatres needs to be done at least every 6 months to make sure the Filters are working correctly and air inside and outside the wards and theatres are clean and up to standard.

 More more information visit www.particlescience.co.za

{pp}Traditionally the name of doula was given to the woman in the old Greek village who was called for when a mother went into labour. Since we have lost many of these old ways of village support we have developed a course of re-minding ourselves of this magic.

{pp}The Anette Lordan Clinic offers permanent pain relief through manual nerve release therapies.

{pp}Hands on Treatment, a leading supplier of Corporate Massage services has partnered with up and coming Wellness provider Rival Industrial.