From breast cancer patient to support volunteer: Anne Cameron

Anne Cameron’s journey with Project Flamingo began just two weeks before her breast cancer surgery. What followed was not only life-saving medical care but a transformative experience that led Anne to volunteer with the very organization that helped her access timely care.

Anne Cameron, Project Flamingo patient and support volunteer, with Flamingo surgeon, Dr. Carl-Adriaan Hugo.

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1. When did you first hear about Project Flamingo? I first heard about Project Flamingo 2 weeks before my own breast cancer operation. I was a Flamingo patient, and that is where I met everyone, from my doctors Dr Michael Brombacher, Dr Carl-Adriaan Hugo and Dr Amy Brombacher to Sam Ramsay, who did my patient visit.
   

2. ⁠As a former patient, now volunteering at the same hospital, what are you most grateful for?

   Now volunteering, I'm grateful for my life that was saved by the fantastic doctors and staff. But also that I am now able to give back as a patient support volunteer and comfort patients who have gone through the same I did.
   

3. ⁠What about your work is most meaningful to you? My Cancer Connection group works together with Project Flamingo. When we visit patients, I can see the mood change and how they go from scared to feeling seen and cared for. Usually, when we arrive in the ward, they are not connected to each other, lying with their backs to each other. Then Sam Ramsay (founder of Cancer Connection and patient support volunteer) speaks to them and you can see the hope and life come back. By the time we leave, they have a completely different outlook their surgery and their journey.
   

4. What do you wish to say to each breast cancer patient you meet? I like to say with Project Flamingo, you don't have a worry in the world. I know, I have been through this.
   

5. What has been your most valuable experience? My most valuable experience has been looking at the ladies who are still going through this and telling them they are going to be okay and are in good hands. And after the operation they have The Cancer Connection Group to help them on their journey.
   

6. ⁠What motto in life do you hold dear? Be kind
   

7. ⁠Is there a moment with a patient that stands out for you? After chatting and visiting the patients in the hospital, then seeing them after at their regular check-ups at Frere hospital, full of smiles and thanking us for visiting them, and how we made them feel so at ease and relaxed. It's so special, it means the world to people.
   

8. ⁠If you could change one thing about the perception of breast cancer, what would that be? Be positive, it's not a death sentence.