Well-known local DJ and radio presenter Thabo Lawrence Phuthi Dikgoetle (43) did what he does best – speaking to and touching the hearts of hundreds of people.

Thabo has shared that he has been diagnosed with colon cancer.

Known to many as a radio presenter at Motheo FM with a passion for sports and also an enthusiastic DJ, Thabo became seriously ill in 2025.

Friends supported DJ Thabo with three special events that were held at the end of last year, and on Valentine’s Day to raise money for him when he could not work anymore.

After many months of battling his illness mostly alone and hearing that he has stage four colon cancer, Dr Dalene van Jaarsveld at the Pelonomi Regional Hospital told Thabo about the Bloemfontein Hospice.

“My first thought was: ‘That place?!’

“I remember the stigma about hospice from long ago and did not even know there is such a place in Bloemfontein.

“What I found instead, is love and exceptional care.”

It has now been more than a month that Thabo found a new home here.

During Hospice Week on 8 May, he recorded a message that went viral on the Hospice Bloemfontein Facebook Page.

“This place is so beautiful! When my friends visit, they say: ‘Thabo, is this a hotel?’ ”

He says the management and staff are so friendly.

Hanneke Lubbe, manager of the Bloemfontein Hospice, said Thabo’s video on Facebook made quite an impact.

She said Thabo was very weak when he came to the hospice. “Since then, he became stronger.”

Thabo says that being in hospice care has given him new hope. “I know I have to enjoy every moment I get. Here, I feel relaxed and I can even walk around.”

He even met some of his stalwart listeners, Bernice Kaliya and Thandi Motsamai, who now form part of a multidisciplinary team that take care of him.