On 13 August 2026, the ILoveBoobies screening team arrived at Siphilo Sonke in Grabouw, about an hour outside Cape Town.
We had taken two nurses and expected to screen fewer than 100 women. On a typical screening day, each nurse can see between 35 and 50 women. Every screening includes a consultation, a clinical breast examination, advice and education, and, where there is a concern, the medical documentation needed for further diagnostic investigation.
That day, 210 women arrived.
Our two nurses screened every one of them.
Of the 210 women examined, 23 had concerns that required further medical investigation.
What happens after we find something?
This is where screening becomes so much more than an examination.
Finding a concern is only the beginning. A woman needs access to further testing, transport to get there, time away from work, medical professionals who will receive her, and a system that moves quickly enough to give her answers.
The Grabouw community rallied around these women and helped arrange transport to Winelands Radiology in Somerset West.
There, the women were examined with efficiency, care and dignity. They received the diagnostic imaging they needed, including mammograms — a first mammogram for every one of them.
And then came the wait for answers.
For ILoveBoobies, time matters. The sooner a woman knows what she is dealing with, the sooner she has options and can begin navigating the next stage of her care.
Three of the women screened that day were diagnosed with breast cancer.
They have now entered the state hospital system with their diagnosis already in hand.
That is incredibly important. By completing the screening and diagnostic process before referral into the hospital system, we can potentially remove months of delay — in some cases, a journey that can take up to a year before a woman reaches the same point.
It takes a community
This outcome belongs to every person who helped move these women from screening to answers.
To our nurses who kept going when 100 women became 210. To the community members who helped transport the women. To the farmers and employers who gave them time away from work. To Winelands Radiology for providing their expertise with such dignity and care. And to our own Dr Andre Truter, who helps ensure that the women we refer are supported through the diagnostic process.
We are deeply grateful.
A screening is not simply about finding a lump or identifying a concern. It is about creating a pathway from uncertainty to an answer — and making that pathway as short, accessible and dignified as possible.
For three women from Grabouw, 13 August changed the direction of that journey.
Early detection saves lives.
