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Zoleka stays positive to beat cancer again

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Zoleka Mandela      Photo by Akira Suemori, FIA Foundation
Zoleka Mandela Photo by Akira Suemori, FIA Foundation

ZOLEKA Mandela is determined to win the fight against cancer again.

This comes after she was diagnosed with breast cancer last month.

She told Daily Sun: “My fiance, Thierry Bashala, discovered the lump last month, a few days away from my 36th birthday.”

She said she was in tears and completely broken-hearted after the discovery.

“This came just days after my doctor had given us the go-ahead to discontinue the treatment to prevent my cancer from returning so we could try for a baby.”

Zoleka was first diagnosed with cancer in 2012.

She went on to write a book about her fight against the disease called When Hope Whispers.

Last week she went to hospital after a tumour was found in her left breast.

Surgery was performed last week to remove the cancer and reconstruct her breast.

Brave Zoleka said: “I’m in a lot of pain but it’s not unbearable.

“I wasn’t too concerned about the surgery, but what scares me is the effect it might have on my fertility.

“But I can’t let that consume me.”

She said she was very grateful the cancer had not spread to her liver, bones or lungs.

“Beating cancer starts in the mind, so my focus is on staying positive and healthy in the weeks leading up to my radiation therapy, so I’m strong enough to conquer the disease again,” she said.

And she isn’t letting the disease rule her life.

She said she was leaving for the UK in less than two weeks to campaign for road safety. “I’m preparing for all my speaking engagements this year from the comfort of my own bed,” she said.

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