Unathi Nkayi is filled with gratitude as her friend Pinda Potewela has been gifted with over R150 000 by Mzansi to help fight cancer. Her friend, Unathi, had initially pleaded with Mzansi to donate R150 000 however the target was exceeded to over R160 000.
Read more: Unathi Nkayi Obtains Her Doctorate Degree
When Unathi first spoke of her friends' diagnosis, she revealed how emotional she got as she typed the message down. She pleaded with Mzansi to donate on her Back a Buddy page.
“Tears are rolling down my cheeks as I type this. My chest is wet. She’s not just a Buddy she’s my high school friend and hockey buddy Phinda who has stage IV Cancer and is fighting for her life. Please help us raise funds for her treatment and donate whatever you can. Please go to the BackABuddy website and pledge anything if you have the means to do so,” she wrote.
She thanked Mzansi for helping her friend when the target got reached. “Thank you Mzansi from the bottom of our hearts. Thank You.”
On the page, it talks about Potewela's diagnosis and what needs to be done in order to fight it.
“My sister, Pinda, was diagnosed with Stage IV breast cancer in December 2021. Added to this, a bi-lateral pleural effusion due to metastasis to her lungs was noted. This fluid build-up in her pleural cavity makes it difficult for the lungs to fully expand. This leads to shortness of breath making daily tasks that you and I take for granted difficult. Stage IV cancer is incurable but controllable through treatment. Pinda started chemotherapy in January 2022 and upon completion, moved on to endocrine therapy. By mid-September 2022 her pleural effusion had not subsided and Pinda was advised to start a second line of chemo. She has valiantly started chemotherapy again, but tumour marker test results from a week ago showed a shocking increase in disease prevalence. As a family, we are shattered but determined to help Pinda in her fight for the improvement of her quality of life,," the statement starts off.
“We have investigated the possibilities of an integrative approach including the therapeutic targeting of cancer pathways. We need to give this approach a try because Pinda’s disease continues uncontrolled, despite conventional treatment. Research hints that it’s more effective to combine these treatments so this leaves us with a limited window i.e. while Pinda is on second-line chemo.”
They added that since the treatment is unconventional, it must be self funded. "We appeal to you to make a contribution towards Pinda’s medical fund. Help us give my sister…a daughter, a wife, a mother, a friend and over all kicks-ass go-getter a chance against this ugly disease,” the statement concludes.
Unathi just recently celebrated her doctorate degree. “My paternal grandfather named me Fundiswa, a name I grew up hating NOT understanding the generational curses he was breaking at THAT moment.As the only grandchild he named something I brag about to all my cousins and sisters️️️ I now understand what he was doing for our family. His son and his wife, my parents left SA for 11 years and raised us out of the country for THAT specific reason.”
“Because my grandparents wanted ALL of us to be educated at a time when apartheid wouldn’t allow it for us black people. My parents only saw their parents twice in this time because of THIS sacrifice.”
Image credit: ANMG