This past Friday (11 February) saw many local women unite for a worthy cause by donning a touch of pink and choosing to spread the love by supporting a fundraising brunch in aid of Project Flamingo.

The midmorning event was held at a residence in Helena Heights, Somerset West, and entailed a meet-and-greet with local surgeon Dr Liana Roodt, the driving force behind the non-profit organisation that provides timeous cancer-related surgeries to patients on long state hospital waiting lists. These surgeries are performed free of charge, over weekends, by volunteer surgeons and anaesthetists. Patients are also gifted pamper packs, which provide essential goodies to help them on their road to recovery, as well as food parcels where required.

Where it all began

Roodt started Project Flamingo back in 2010 after realising the desperate need in the public health sector. Early in her surgical career, while working in the state healthcare system, Roodt recognised that not only were women battling breast cancer subjected to agonisingly long waiting times for surgery, they were also mostly isolated in their struggle with a daunting diagnosis.

The frustration at the existing inefficiencies led to the initiative developed to make a lifesaving difference within a failing healthcare system. Inspired by the deeply moving story of lipsticks being distributed to liberated women at the end of World War II – for whom such a simple comfort allowed them to reclaim their humanity and sense of self – Roodt and a group of like-minded people got together around a good bottle of wine and came up with the simple, yet profoundly effective ideas of “catch-up surgeries and pamper packs”.

The AmaBele Belles dragonboat racing team pledged the first donation to the project in a radio interview capturing the hearts of listeners and enabling the dream to come alive. Now, 12 years later, the project has changed hundreds of lives and continues on.

“To date, 980 surgeries have been performed and about 16 000 care packs distributed through various oncology units in the metropole,” Roodt divulged at the gathering.

She went on to become a specialist surgeon who was awarded numerous accolades, and operates a thriving private surgical practice in Somerset West. This while working in the Groote Schuur Breast and Endocrine Unit, and heading up the NPO with vision and passion.

Among the successes, Project Flamingo has also provided and maintained two ultra-sound machines at Groote Schuur Hospital, provided funding for a specialist surgeon to spend four hours a week at the Groote Schuur Breast Unit, and partnered with various role-players to advocate for better cancer care.

On the operations front, Project Flamingo relies on donations to cover theatre costs and pay for nursing staff. There are no other salaries paid and all funds go straight into patient care.

Every aspect of the organisation is run by Roodt and her team of five directors, who are driven solely by a collective passion and dedication, which without there would be no Project Flamingo.

‘Cancer touches everyone’

“Liana is my incredible and inspiring neighbour, so we know her socially and admire her hugely. Gilly wanted to make pamper packs to donate to Project Flamingo and I thought we could use that as the beginning for something bigger. We decided to throw a fundraiser with a dual purpose: to both raise a little money and perhaps contribute to one or two theatre lists and, secondly, to spread the word about the project. The more people who know about it, the better. Liana and her team are the role-players and really should be recognised as the heroes they are,” said Nikki Grieve, who together with Gilly Frew championed the fundraising event, which was supported by just under 100 Helderberg women resonating with Project Flamingo and the plight of patients.

Grieve further said that Project Flamingo is an incredible example of the private sector, out of the goodness of people’s hearts, picking up the slack of a failing state healthcare system. “It is significant in that for every surgery performed, a woman’s life is saved. Mothers, sisters, wives, grandmothers – these are the people who are the very fabric of our broken society. So effectively, our communities are being saved one surgery at a time.”

According to the pair, cancer touches everyone, whether directly or indirectly, and the thought that the level of care a patient receives is determined by their socio-economic circumstances is “shocking”.

“By supporting Project Flamingo everyone can do a little bit towards alleviating this discrepancy in our society,” added Grieve.

How does Project Flamingo work?

With the tremendous strain on South Africa’s public health sector, and especially theatre time and staff constraints, it means patients can wait up to 14 weeks for cancer surgeries. Project Flamingo aims to fill the gap with catch-up surgery lists.

Depending on the type of procedures and staff availability, four to nine patients within the state system receive their surgeries per list.

Project Flamingo directors and volunteers do not select patients for theatre lists. They make their services available and slots are allocated as to patients present in need of surgery at Groote Schuur, Tygerberg and Livingstone hospitals.

Project lists are scheduled one year in advance, the dates are added to the hospital booking systems, and names are provided by the hospitals. This ensures that the process remains fair and objective, and that patients receive evidence-based cancer care.

Aside from breast cancer related surgeries, Project Flamingo commits theatre time to stoma reversals that can alter the entire trajectory of a patient’s recovery. Many colorectal cancer patients have to live with a colostomy bag after their surgical treatment, which severely limits quality of life. Some stomas can be reversed, but a lack of resources means patients are forced to live with colostomy bags far longer than necessary.

A gift of hope

Each week a panel of expert clinicians, including surgeons, oncologists, pathologists and radiologists, meet with about 20 newly diagnosed breast cancer patients to discuss their diagnosis and treatment plan. The traumatic ordeal is countered with pamper packs, a simple and effective way to keep their feminine spirit alive and afford some comfort.

With personal care essentials, snacks and thoughtful extras, the packs are a symbol of hope for all new patients in the breast oncology units at Groote Schuur, Tygerberg, George and Livingstone hospitals.