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In a remarkable display of community engagement and commitment to improving the lives of local women, WSU’s Dr Viwe Nogaga, is running a breast reduction marathon for women suffering from disproportionately large breasts.
Nogaga, who’s based in the Department of Surgery, Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, will see her efforts provide not only physical, but also emotional relief to hundreds of women in the Eastern Cape Province.
“I decided to take time outside of my working hours and perform operations on weekends to help the backlog of about 220 women who are on the waiting list for breast reductions, but cannot not be helped due to lack of space and time to treat them,” said Nogaga.
According to the doctor, large breasts reduce the chances of early detection of breast cancer as it is almost impossible to detect lumps under the abundant breast tissues.
These women usually experience psychological fatigue due to carrying a disproportionate amount of weight and might end up being less productive in their professions.
Nogaga said, “I noticed a problem with women who have big breasts and must carry as much as 8 kilograms of weight in their chests. These women are usually run a high risk of infections under the breast, suffer from backpains and are faced with societal stereotypes,”
Speaking on experiences of some of his patients, Nogaga said he was extremely concerned by experiences of young girls who go through disturbing experiences of being sexualised by older men and ridicule from their peers.
The initiative, which started in 2020, gathered much attention when several health practitioners from in and outside the Eastern Cape volunteered, including Surgeons, Nurses and Anaesthesiologists to see at least over 150 women from the Eastern Cape get the help they need.
In 2022, the MEC for the Department of Health, Nomakhosazana Meth, bestowed a service excellence award to the doctor and his team for going beyond the call of duty and lending a helping hand to those who cannot access proper healthcare.
“The amount of support I received from my peers when starting this marathon is amazing. The amount of dedication that these shows the amount of dedication that these practitioners invest in the health and wellbeing of our communities.”
By Ongezwa Sigodi
