By Catherine Murombedzi

FROM patients to advisors, how can that be?
Yes, full time advisors!
Netsayi Dzinoreva is not just a cancer conqueror, she is a pillar of support to those fighting cancer.
She is an awareness campaign champion for healthy lifestyles.
She provides a 24-hour service to those in need of a shoulder to cry on.
‘Netsy’, as her friends call her, speaks to both locals and people abroad, replying to messages from the global village.
Dzinoreva gives credit to the support she got from family, friends, her doctor and the inner peace she now has in her fight againt cancer.
The Cancer Reach Foundation is a WhatsApp group founded by Dzinoreva to give support to all in need of encouragement.
The entry to the group is free; open to those fighting cancer, people interested in the issue and caregivers.
It has doctors, nutrition specialists, the young and old from all walks of life and besides lived stories, the group shares specifically cancer information.
The group is mulling registerring as a Voluntary Service Overseas (VSO).
No jokes or depressing issues are allowed, hence posting is open to all, with the core business highlighted on entry of new members.
Survivors, called ‘conquerors’, do not gloss over their journey.
They talk of challenges, medication effects which can be severe, the road walked and why they need to be diet-alert to wad off any chance of recurrence.
Discussion on the forum is 24/7 since it’s a global village with parties responding when up.
Dzinoreva walks us through her journey: “I was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016.
I had none of the known symptoms of breast cancer.
It was by the grace of God that what started as an itch turned to be a cancer lump measuring 10cm in diameter already on stage four.
I was rushed into theatre and had a breast mastectomy.
I went through chemo and radio therapies with ease, though the processes were exhausting and cumbersome.
It was a success.
In May 2017, I started having back pain but the three CT scans did not pick any abnormalities.
It was only in November that the CT scan showed mestatic breast cancer.
It had moved to the pelvis, lungs, liver and spine.
It was a shocker.
My oncologist rushed me for radiotherapy and started me on chemo again (sic).
Unfortunately, the drug I was on was not working.
I was bedridden and had to use a wheelchair, I could not walk anymore.
The side-effects of chemotherapy were unbearable.
I was throwing up any food I took. I lost my appetite and life became insurmountable (sic).
I lost weight, from 64kg to 48kg.
My CD4 count went down to 16 protein levels 23 HB 9, all hope seemed lost.
The main problem of cancer treatment is that it is very expensive. Treatment was around US$2 050 every three weeks.
If I weren’t on medical aid, I don’t know how I would have survived.
I was put on morphine, but still the pain persisted.”
Dzinoreva values the support she got from family and friends.
“My family, friends and church colleagues were with me throughout my cancer journey,” she said.
“The psychosocial support helped me to continue with the fight.
A friend referred me to his aunt who lives in Ireland.
She had conquered cancer by observing correct nutrition.
That link was my saving grace.
She walked me through nutrition, how it can support chemotherapy to heal the body.
To be honest, I don’t know which of the concoctions worked.
What I can only say is, a combination of herbs, fruits and vegetables worked together in my favour.
I also learnt to detoxify my body and liver naturally so as to aid the release of toxins from the body.
Now I can walk again and I’m steadily gaining weight.”