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LIVESTRONG in South Africa: Working to Empower Cancer Survivors

May 13, 2010 by Rebekkah Schear (LIVESTRONG Staff)

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By LIVESTRONG Staffers Rebekkah Schear and Leigh Harmon

On Wednesday, May 5, LIVESTRONG was back on the ground in Johannesburg, South Africa, as part of the exciting next stop of the LIVESTRONG Global Cancer Campaign. In partnership with the American Cancer Society and Campaigning 4 Cancer, a South African advocacy NGO, we delivered two days of training to a diverse group of organizational leaders, cancer survivors, and advocates who traveled from all over the country to take part in the groundbreaking launch of the Survivor Empowerment Initiative.

The goal of the Survivor Empowerment Initiative is to bring together decision makers, clinicians, media, advocates, organizations, and survivors to work towards a system of care that puts cancer survivors first. In many countries around the globe, there is a severe lack of resources and infrastructure devoted to cancer care. As a result, cancer survivors are not receiving the treatment or support that they need, and people are suffering unnecessarily. In an effort to improve access to care for cancer patients, the International Union Against Cancer began to support the implementation of Patient Forums which are several day meetings of cancer community stakeholders, including decision makers, cancer patients, and supporters, which give cancer survivors an opportunity to share their stories and put a face to the issues they deal with on a daily basis.

Last week?s training focused on preparing advocates and survivors to plan a Forum in South Africa by building their advocacy skills, and allowing them a venue to collaborate around the unique needs of cancer survivors in the country. These skills will be utilized throughout the Initiative, culminating with a Survivor Forum at the end of the year, planned by Campaigning 4 Cancer and a planning committee of local leadership.

Having cancer can be a challenging experience anywhere, and in countries like South Africa, where most of the governmental resources are focused on the fight against other diseases like HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis, and heavy stigma persists, a cancer diagnosis means not only fighting for your rights as a patient, but fighting against a convoluted and unequal system of care.

The Survivor Forum will provide a starting point for raising cancer issues to national awareness in order to call the South African government to action on changing policies that will support survivors. South Africa is on the precipice of seeing monumental change for cancer survivors?which is why now is the time to support their national advocacy effort and help give voice to the cancer experience. And if the Initiative is successful, South Africa will stand as a beacon of hope to the rest of the world, providing a model that in many countries, will give cancer survivors a voice and a way to make the changes they want to see.