Durban - Siyanda Mwelase, 29, from KwaMashu is using his alter ego Siyanda Peterson, to motivate and encourage the youth, especially those suffering with illnesses. Mwelase, who has a huge following on social media, posts videos focus on every day living but recently shared his cancer survival journey.
He was diagnosed with stage 2 colon cancer last year in June and after weeks of treatment, he said his doctors informed him last month that he was cancer free.
Colon cancer is a type of cancer that begins in one’s large intestine causing persistent abdominal discomfort with pain or gas.
“Being in a new and busy province such as the Gauteng had taken a toll on me. I became ill and had to be hospitalised. Doctors ran tests on me and they detected cancer. It had spread rapidly and I had to begin chemotherapy.”
He said he had to do 12 sessions of chemotherapy.
“Cancer affected my self-esteem and I had to easily accept the disease, as I did not have any information about it. We as black families believe some things are generational but never thought I would have cancer after my grandmother was diagnosed.”
He said he had lost hope in beating cancer.
“It affected me physically because the moment I started chemotherapy I lost my hair and a generous amount of weight which made my self-esteem drop. Most of my clothes did not fit anymore. I would get depressed.
“The side effects took its toll cause that’s where I just knew that one day I might not even wake up, it wasn’t the best time”, said Mwelase.
“As a social media influencer, you live your life in front of the whole world and when I took videos of my chemotherapy and how my life has changed since June many people were interested in being a part of my journey. My videos even reached the eyes of Somizi Mhlongo who visited me on one of my chemo days.
I still can’t believe how social media can make you dine with the stars.
’’When I saw the engagement among my followers I decided to have them be a part of my journey. I saw the need to keep people informed.
He said among black people, there’s not much information about cancer.
“We just get shocked when we find that a person has been diagnosed with it. What I have seen from my vlogs is that there are so many black people who have experienced it from family or friends.
“The information is there we just choose not to use it. If I had not been diagnosed I would not have bothered about educating myself on cancer. I wish I knew better.”
He said he would like for society to speak out about what is going on in their lives.
“I made it through because of the many strangers I knew were rooting for me to beat cancer. I did fight a good fight.”
He said on January 27, he was declared cancer-free, educating people about the disease still continues even after beating cancer.
Thandeka Mbhele said she was encouraged by Peterson’s videos.
“My grandmother was recently diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer and as a family, we had difficulties accepting her condition. But after seeing Siyanda’s posts, we have had a leap of faith that she can also fight it,” said Mbhele.
SUNDAY TRIBUNE