Sanzaf helps with cancer screening

The Pink Drive, a non-profit organisation, held early detection cancer screening at the South African National Zakáh Fund (SANZAF) office in Salt River, on World Cancer Day, Friday February 4.

“They do humanitarian work in the community, so we thought they can reach out to the community where we can offer our services to them,” said Pink Drive provincial co-ordinator Tenielle Karen about the decision to approach Sanzaf.

The day included clinical breast exams and pap smears for women and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) tests for men. Forty-two women had the breast exams and 14 had the pap smears while 28 men had the PSA tests.

Ms Karen urged the public to regularly go for check-ups so that cancer could be detected early. “Even during the pandemic, cancer does not take a break, the sooner you can detect it, the sooner you can treat it quicker.”

Sanzaf regional manager Shafiek Barendse supported the initiative by going for the PSA test.

“Sanzaf works closely with the communities, so it is important to make them aware of doing these important health tests,” he said, adding that they hoped to help the Pink Drive reach more communities.

Sanzaf caseworker Aziza Johardien, who went for a breast examination, said it was important to get tested. “If they can detect any lumps, they can send away for more tests,” she said. “Cancer can be prevented before it spreads any further.”

Visit pinkdrive.co.za for more information.