Taking to her Instagram account, she detailed how she struggled with excruciating pain in her left rib for more than a month. She said she decided to consult her GP, who diagnosed her with Bone metastasis. This is a condition in which cancer cells spread from their original site to the bone.
"I've had a sore back for more than a month now, and recently consulted with my GP when I could no longer tolerate the excruciating pain in my left rib. I went for an x-ray of my chest and rib a few days ago - I have a pathological fracture and swelling caused by cancer," Zoleka wrote.
She continued "My Medical Oncologist has scheduled me for a CT scan and bone scan, to determine whether I have cancer in the remaining parts of my body. From what she’s told me, cancer in the bones cannot be eradicated nor can it be cured. I have Bone Metastasis. I’ve just had my CT scan and am awaiting my results."
Zoleka said she is worried about how she would inform her children that her cancer has returned. "I don’t even have the words to articulate my thoughts and feelings, the words to describe how scared I am right now. What do I tell my children? How do I tell them that this time around, I may not get to live my life as a survivor? How do I tell them everything will be okay when it’s not? I’m dying … I don’t want to die," she wrote.
"Dear younger me, someday you are going to stop being afraid of who you are. You’re going to claim yourself with all the fierce tenderness you are hoping so desperately to receive from others. You’ll accept your own limitations, and then you’ll leap over them. And when you stop to look around, you’ll realize that the people and opportunities surrounding you are everything you never knew you always wanted. I’ll be here waiting for you.” - Nanea Hoffman. 🧡🤎🧡 #ZolekaMandela."
Fans have been sending her love and light during this difficult time.
bru_matsila "Tjo Zo, may God sustain you and give you strength. You are a wonderful mother. Sending you love and light"
ntobekomayoli_mzimelagwala "These letters to a younger you arouse a lot of mixed emotions within me, they make me reflect to myself ...love you Zo"
Zoleka is a two-time breast cancer survivor. Her first diagnosis of breast cancer was 10 years ago on March 15, and she expressed gratitude to have survived cancer on her Instagram page.
“Today marks exactly 10 years since my first breast cancer diagnosis. Thanking Facebook for the reminder.”
