Hi! My name is Natalie. I am a 25-year old human with a life altering story to tell in the hope that what I share can help & guide others.

In 2017, CANSA released a fact sheet on oral cancer in South Africa which you can go ahead & read here. What is important about this report is that in the year of 2017, only 5 cases of oral cancer were registered for women aged 20-29 in the entire country with a population of around 59 million people. This makes my diagnosis rare. What makes it even more unusual is the fact that I do not have or indulge in any of the potential risks and causes of this cancer. Primarily, I don’t drink nor do I smoke. Yet somehow, as of May 2023, I was diagnosed with stage 3 oral cancer (specifically squamous cell carcinoma). Finding a space & resource that can guide me through this experience in a more personal way than medical reports has been nearly impossible to find.

While my illness has affected my ability to speak and communicate as well as I used to, I will not allow it to silence me. So, I created this blog to share the experiences I have had & document those yet to come. Stayed tuned as I will be adding & updating this website throughout the journey.

Why Beeting Cancer Blog?

First things first – why the name The Beeting Cancer Blog & why the super funky logo? Well, I made use of the double ‘ee‘ in beeting as an ode to my slogan & mission for this blog ‘Educated Patients – Empowered Patients’. This is something my doctors have shared numerous times & while I am lucky enough to have a medical team who do share as much information about this experience as possible with me, not everyone is so fortunate. Empowering others to know what an experience like this entails & potentially making it that much easier, would be such a privilege. Plus, I’m learning new tricks everyday so why not share for those who may find some use out of it?

On this blog you’ll find a timeline of my story from diagnosis to present day, planned days to come, a page dedicated to the best products on the market to help out with all the weird and wonderful ailments that come with having cancer & other informative posts about the experience, procedures I have had, expectations vs. reality – all with the hope that what I share can possibly be a space for others to learn.

So with that I welcome you to what is & will undoubtedly be a crazy journey in the road to recovering from an illness that still baffles the medical world today.

Should you ever wish to contact me directly, I can be reached on Facebook @TheBeetingCancerBlog