Cancer survivor Itumeleng Morole has embarked on a mission to spread a positive message, help other survivors and fight the stigma attached to ostomy.
An ostomy is a surgically created opening in the abdominal wall that provides a way for waste to exit the body.
When she was diagnosed with anal cancer in 2021 Morole’s life was shattered and her space became a “living hell”. After battling the disease for more than a year and trying to get assistance from government hospitals, she felt death had arrived.
In April 2022 she started treatment at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital for about six weeks and was declared cancer-free.
“It was difficult to secure a place at the hospital. I felt I was a dead woman walking,” she said.
Before she was diagnosed Morole said she only experienced symptoms of diarrhoea. She consulted her doctor who prescribed medication, but instead of the medication addressing the diarrhoea, she experienced constipation.
We fall into depression after the surgery and because we have to carry the bag with us. People need to know there is life with an ostomy and you can live
— Itumeleng Morole
“After that I spent a year before I could get help.”
As a survivor she must live with an ostomy bag. She could not lift heavy items and was forced to learn a new way of life. It drastically changed her life and her plans, but she decided the best way was to accept her condition.
“This has changed my life. It changed everything; it changed my lifestyle because there are things I can’t do now because I have an ostomy.”
Initially it was hard to adjust to the new norm. This often depressed her and she would regularly think about how society would perceive her by looking at the way she is. When she was diagnosed she did not get any emotional assistance. Only her mother and a few friends came through while she was trying to figure out what had happened in her life.
“I only had my friends as my support system, and my mother, but most of my family members rejected me as if they were waiting for me to die. In that space I felt there was no more, we were just waiting for that day. My mother was working at the time and would leave me home alone. I had to crawl to the kitchen to make food.”
Morole, from Katlehong in Ekurhuleni, had dreams and had opened a shop to sell cooked meals. That changed when she started her TikTok profile to help other survivors.
“People see my videos on TikTok and that I have an ostomy and am preparing their food, so they feel it is disgusting. I closed the shop and have dedicated my time to helping people with an ostomy.”
This is Breast Cancer Awareness Month and also Ostomy Awareness Month. Morole said she learnt through her journey that people with an ostomy are not recognised in South Africa.
“We fall into depression after the surgery and because we have to carry the bag with us. People need to know there is life with an ostomy and you can live.”
Morole founded an NGO, the Ubunye Ostomates Foundation, to help ostomates face daily challenges living with an ostomy. She learnt most ostomates hide their pouches because of shame, which then leads to depression.
“We face a lot of challenges because of our ostomies. People think we stink because we live with something they know little to nothing about, and also the lack of enough ostomy supplies from public hospitals.”
She had accepted her condition, started the NGO and continues to spread the message about ostomy.
“Through this [NGO] I give emotional help and show people I am living with an ostomy, so it doesn’t have to be different.
“Because people see my videos on TikTok, they often ask me questions, such as how did you accept it? I help them go through that stage, give them insight into what I use and the food we eat — just to walk through that emotional journey.”
TimesLIVE
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