If you need a little glamour in your life, why not try polo?
Not actually playing it, of course, but attending an event filled with manners and manure; with glitz and glamour; with the women polo players being the backdrop for fashion in the sun, luxury shopping, champagne quaffing…
And its all for a good cause: breast cancer.
Reach for Recovery is a non-profit organisation that helps women regain some of the self-esteem they've been deprived of by breast cancer.
To raise funds for this worthy cause (tickets cost R650 and can be bought at Computicket), Cell C, Edith Unlimited and Samsung have joined forces to host a polo match in which the all-women teams will face off against each other in support of breast cancer, according to a press release
The Cell C Playing for Pink Ladies Invitational Polo in association with Samsung will be held on Sunday October 4 at Inanda Club in Johannesburg.
(IOL readers in Gauteng can win tickets to the event - see below.)
Suzette van der Merwe, Executive Cell C Foundation said: “The Cell C Foundation has a strong focus on the empowerment of women in South Africa and this cause is one that allows Cell C to empower women by helping them through the process of recovery and discovery.”
Reach for Recovery spokeswoman Colleen Smith sees women on the worst day of their lives. She meets them in their hospital beds, in shock, having just had the symbol of womanhood - their breasts - removed.
She meets them when they are coming to terms with having been told that they have cancer; she meets them when they are vulnerable and unsure and afraid.
She meets them when they are asking themselves the big question: Am I going to die?
And Smith, a cancer survivor who's been there herself, brings a ray of hope and relief into the lives of women who have had mastectomies - whether they've lost one breast, or both.
Smith, a volunteer, is the chairman of the Gauteng South Johannesburg volunteer for Reach For Recovery.
Reach for Recovery was started in 1952 in America when Terese Lasser, a mastectomy patient, realised that not enough was being done for those whose life had changed dramatically after breast cancer.
Lasser visited South Africa in 1967, and RFR was established in this country.
Smith says: “When I had my mastectomy - I had one breast removed - I realised how much women need someone to help them through the process of losing your breast. It's life changing.”
She chose not to have reconstructive surgery, a decision that meant she needed help from someone who understood about prostheses - the silicone false breast that fits into a bra and is the same size, shape and weight as the woman's own breast.
“As someone who has been through the process, and come out on the other side, I can honestly say that I go into the ward and find women shell shocked, confused and miserable - and when I leave, they are smiling.
“And the only reason is that as a RFR volunteer, I bring them a bag for the drain they're going to have to carry around for awhile; a softie for stuffing into a bra until their reconstruction surgery, or until their prosthesis is fitted.
“I also take them information, and talk to them about diet and breast health. It's very uplifting for them to see someone who has survived, who is looking so good, who is there for them to ask questions of.”
Reconstructive surgery is expensive, and often not an option for women not on medical aid. Reach for Recovery steps in and provides prostheses (that retail at R1000) to indigent women for a donation of R50/R75.
But, RFR workers have found that many women (mostly older) choose not to have invasive reconstructive surgery with silicone implants under the skin.
For these women, they have to be professionally fitted so that the silicone false breast matches the shape and size and weight of the women's breasts.
“We spend much of our time fund raising to ensure that we can help women who can't afford it. Breasts are such an important part of a woman's sexual identity. We at RFR are there to help both practically and emotionally,” Smith said, adding that she finds it comforting and rewarding to help women.
“I have met with the most wonderful women. It is a privilege to see them grow from strength to strength as they recover.”
Follow the Cell C Playing for Pink Ladies Invitational Polo on social media:
Facebook - Playing for Pink SA
Twitter - @Playing4PinkSA
The competition is now closed.