Forty five year old mother of three boys, Wendy Potgieter, was diagnosed with Rheumatoid Arthritis (RA) in her early thirties, and has lived with this debilitating disease for almost 13 years. As a testament to good medical care and the right medication, Wendy embarked on the Cape Epic, where she cycled a gruelling 698km over eight challenging days, and competed amongst the fittest of able-bodied athletes. Ultimately, Wendy climbed 15 650 metres which is the equivalent of summiting Everest twice. “I was so nervous and excited beforehand, and I’ve just lived my biggest dream,” reveals Wendy. Wendy’s life changed five... Continue Reading
By Alfred Tembo – Amid revelation that National Blood Services Zimbabwe (NBSZ) is continuously acquiring state of the art medical equipment to keep up with changing trends in the health sector, the organisation has no immediate future plans to set foot in malaria zone says an a senior official from the organisation revealed. The organisation has lately been appealing for mobility of youth and adult donor community to be pro-active and forthcoming in the national call of serving lives by donating blood as a way of contributing to boosting the blood banks. The organisation stamped its foot on maintaining the status quo... Continue Reading
Residents Send out SOS for safe Water, Sanitation Facilities – By: Augustine N. Myers – Life is becoming increasingly unbearable for the over five thousand residents of Kamara Town, situated near the Po River between Montserrado and Bomi Counties. Kamara Town is about an hour drive from central Monrovia with a population of approximately 5000 inhabitants to include 250 family heads. Kamara Town lacks access to safe drinking water, latrine and health facilities. There are about six hand pumps constructed between 2004-2007, of which two are down and the remaining four are said to be rusty and providing unsafe water... Continue Reading
JOHANNESBURG, March 2013 (PlusNews) – A three-year clinical trial involving over 5,000 women in East and Southern Africa has found that pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) – whether a vaginal gel or an oral tablet – is not effective at preventing HIV infection in young, unmarried women. The Vaginal and Oral Interventions to Control the Epidemic (VOICE) study – involving HIV-negative women in South Africa, Uganda and Zimbabwe – aimed to test the safety, effectiveness and acceptability of three HIV-prevention methods: daily use of a vaginal gel containing the antiretroviral (ARV) drug tenofovir; daily use of oral tablets containing tenofovir, and daily... Continue Reading
……Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month – Former president and Nobel Peace Prize winner, F. W. de Klerk knows exactly how colon cancer can affect someone. He was diagnosed with this type of cancer in 2006 and has been in remission for seven years now. His surprise diagnosis has made him realise that this sensitive type of cancer needs to be discussed, and receive more public awareness. Colorectal cancer is the cancer of the bowel, colon and rectum and is the fourth most common cancer in South Africa. While the disease is typically found in persons over the age of 50, colorectal... Continue Reading
