The post World Cancer Day first appeared on Eurolab.

Breast Cancer Awareness Month is an opportunity to remind South Africans of the importance of regular breast examinations. A new lump in a breast could be a symptom of breast cancer and warrants a visit to your healthcare professional. Different people experience different symptoms before being diagnosed with breast cancer. Be on the lookout for any of the changes below:

• A new lump in the breast or armpit area
• Thickening or breast swelling
• Pain or pulling in the nipple area
• Redness or flaky skin on the breast
• Unusual discharge from the nipple
• Change in the size or the shape of the breast
• Dimpling of the skin

Eurolab continues to make vital breast cancer treatments accessible and affordable to all South Africans in need.  We dressed in pink today to show our support for all of those who have been affected by breast cancer.

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The CEO of one of South Africa’s leading oncology companies, Eurolab, has been recognised internationally for her clear vision on what the future of cancer treatment in South Africa (SA) should look like. Lynne du Toit was selected out of seven CEOs of pharmaceutical companies from across the globe who had been shortlisted for the CPhI Excellence in Pharma: CEO of the Year Award. Judges on the Congress of Pharmaceutical Ingredients (CPhI) Worldwide award panel also selected her for her bold, forward-looking leadership, dynamism and contribution to the wider industry.

Speaking at the awards ceremony in Milan, Italy, last week, du Toit, said, “I dedicate this award to my hard-working team at Eurolab in South Africa; to scientists and developers who advance cancer treatment to improve outcomes for cancer patients; to cancer patients in SA and across the world; to oncologists and healthcare workers who care for these patients; and also to all women CEOs who have had to balance family and work commitments to get ahead.”

Du Toit’s career began in nursing and midwifery. She entered the corporate world in the 1980s as a ‘rep’. “Back then, pharma reps were mostly women and the management teams primarily men. Women have had to apply themselves smartly and carefully juggle family and professional demands to hold their own and show their grit alongside their male executives,” she says.

Together with Gabe Simaan, Chairman of the Eurolab group, Lynne has built Eurolab from the ground up into a leading oncology company that today, through its five divisions, offers an integrated, whole-of cancer-solution to oncologists and their patients. Lowering the costs of cancer medicine, making treatment more accessible and more affordable, and bringing solutions previously only available abroad into SA have underpinned her vision for the company. It is a vision that du Toit has realised and continues to pursue.

Eurolab was founded in 2011 as a generic oncology medicine company to make cancer treatment more affordable for South Africans. Today it has a medicine portfolio of over 30 products, and with the introduction of each new drug over the past decade, more patients have received cancer treatment at a more affordable price.

Du Toit says, “By 2018, Eurolab had driven the price patients were paying for chemotherapy down by over 50%, while the rest of the market experienced an average increase of over 30%. The financial burden of cancer remains one of the biggest challenges for families who are experiencing this disease, and Eurolab is proud that today, patients are required to pay less than half of what they had to pay for oncology medicine in 2010.”

Du Toit says that the Eurolab journey is far from over. “We are working tirelessly on widening access to innovative treatments, solutions and collaborations to strengthen the oncology response in SA in the face of the growing incidence of cancer.”

The CPhI Pharma Awards have been committed to recognising excellence in pharma since 2003.

The post Eurolab CEO wins top global pharmaceutical award first appeared on Eurolab.

The staff and management of the South African oncology company, Eurolab, made sure that little children living in the Zama Zama informal settlement in Pretoria West had a present to open on Christmas day last year. The Eurolab team visited the children here in December to hand over boxes of presents and tasty treats, with a special instruction to only open their presents on Christmas Day. The donation was made possible through a partnership with the New Schools of Hopewhich runs a creche and school in the settlement, located in Claremont, Pretoria West.

Eurolab CEO, Lynne Du Toit, says, “This was the second year that Eurolab donated goodies and gifts to the children living in Zama Zama. Every staff member at Eurolab contributed to the gift packs which were made up of stationery, sweets, toys, clothes and toiletries.

“It was an honour for us to once again support New Schools of Hope because they do such important work in educating and mentoring Zama Zama’s children and ensuring they eat a nutritious diet. Children need to grow up in a nurturing and secure environment and they need to eat properly. New Schools of Hope is providing this to them.”

Alida Fourie, founder of New Schools of Hope, says, “We believe that all children deserve an education. Our focus is to get children ready for school. We do this by providing nutrition, emotional wellness, social skills and an intellectually stimulating environment. This is coupled with strong spiritual and moral guidance.

“We so appreciate Eurolab’s support because it brought joy to children over the festive period while allowing us to engender the real meaning of Christmas and a spirit of giving in these precious little children.”

New Schools of Hope is a non-profit organization. Alida is supported by a team of hard working and dedicated people who share her belief in ‘Healing Poverty through Education’. New Schools of Hope also believes in empowering community members by offering up-skilling and educational opportunities.

Lynne adds that, “Eurolab is an oncology companycommitted to improving access to cancer care and making treatment more affordable. Yet we are also aware of the difficulties that many of our people face beyond healthcare access. This is whyour corporate social responsibility programmes includes education, skills development and nutrition. It is a privilege to support New Schools of Hope and we look forward to meeting up with more childrenat the end of 2022.”

Alida says, “We began our work in Zama Zamain 2013 with a stimulation program for children once a week. The University of Pretoria’s Human NutritionDepartment was brought in to conduct an assessment ofthe nutritional status of children here. We learned that out of a total of one hundred children, 40 were in a severe acute state of malnutrition and needed immediate hospitalization while the other 60 were severely malnourished. Sowe rolled up our sleeves and got to work.”

Zama is a Zulu word which means ‘try your luck’. Through New Schools of Hope’s work, Zama Zama’s little ones will soon be school-ready and have a chance to complete school and try their luck at success in life through further study or employment.

“Despite no running water or electricity, the Zama Zama community works hard to keep their streets and homes clean and neat, with some members now running small businesses as well,” concludes Alida.

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New hope for South Africans with multiple myeloma

Johannesburg – Friday 26 February 2021: Local oncology company, Eurolab, has launched South Africa’s latest lenalidomide generic, allowing South African cancer patients suffering from multiple myeloma to receive life-saving treatment previously only available to the top 0.1% of earners. Lenalidomide is listed by the World Health Organisation (WHO) as an essential medicine, yet many patients in South Africa die of multiple myeloma because they cannot afford the treatment.

Eurolab Group CEO, Lynne du Toit, says, “In keeping with our vision to bring down the cost of cancer treatment and expand access to care, we are proud to announce the launch of Eurolen, South Africa’s first lenalidomide generic.

“Historically, the only lenalidomide product on the market cost over R60 000 per box. Over an average maintenance course of treatment, a patient needed to pay over R720 000 per year. Most medical aids cover R200 000 per year for cancer treatment, leaving patients to fork out a co-payment of over R520 000 for a chance to survive their cancer.

“Eurolen costs R8 711 per 25 mg box. By slashing the cost of treatment down by over R10 000 per month, we are offering renewed hope to South Africans fighting multiple myeloma. Patients who are treated with Eurolen will therefore be fully covered by their annual medical aid oncology benefit.

“Furthermore, treatment of multiple myeloma can last eight years and beyond, meaning that patients needed to pay some R4 million in co-payments. It was clear to us that something needed to be done: the cost of lenalidomide in South Africa is out of reach for most people.”

In multiple myeloma, a type of blood cancer, cancerous plasma cells accumulate in the bone marrow and crowd out healthy blood cells. Rather than produce helpful antibodies, the cancer cells produce abnormal proteins that build up throughout the body and damage organs.

Du Toit explains that, “Internationally and locally, the originator of lenalidomide has long been associated with profiteering at the expense of cancer patients. Currently, there is an ongoing United States enquiry regarding the price of the lenalidomide originator, where executives continue to receive massive salaries directly related to the price of the drug.”

Eurolab was founded in 2011 on the principle of improving access to cancer treatment by making cancer medication more affordable. Since its inception, this innovative oncology company has driven the price of cancer medicine in South Africa down by as much as 53% in molecules in which it competes compared to an average price increase of 31% in molecules in which it does not compete.

Du Toit concludes, “Today, patients are paying less than half of what they were in 2010. Our strategic focus remains on driving down costs, enhancing care and making more treatments, therapies and technologies available to cancer patients.”

The post Eurolab slashes cancer treatment costs again first appeared on Eurolab.

No short cuts, no substitute for hard work

 Lynne Du Toit, CEO of Eurolab and one of the few women leaders in South Africa’s pharmaceutical industry, shares her story about building her career in the face of the whirlwind of work demands and family responsibilities. 

After qualifying as a Registered Nurse in 1980 and then enrolling for a further year to qualify as a midwife, I worked in a predominantly all-women environment where the trainee doctors and academic professors were mostly men.

I entered the corporate world as a medical rep in the early 1980s, and the situation was much the same – medical reps were mostly women and the management teams primarily men!

I realise that much of this had to do with the added roles and responsibilities that many women take on as wife, housekeeper and mother while growing a family. Men, on the other hand, retain the roles of provider and breadwinner.

40 years on – more women in more senior positions 

How the tables have turned over the four decades that I have worked in the medical industry! More and more women are rising into more senior positions, and I salute every one of them – especially the women I have the privilege of working with at Eurolab every day.

My current position has also afforded me the honour of getting to know like-minded women in both professional and corporate capacities. They keep me humble, and at the same time, they inspire me to be the best that I can be in every sphere of life.

No substitute for hard work, commitment and dedication

For both men and women, there is no substitute for hard work, commitment and dedication. There are very few instant success stories on the same level as winning the lotto! This is simply not reality.

What is reality, however, is that as you enter your career, as a woman, you will most likely still want to get married and have a family. You will still be the one who goes through pregnancy and stays at home weaning a new-born. Then, depending on what drives you, you will either be back at work after four months or you will try something new to give you the flexibility you might want in order to raise your growing family.

The risk here is that when you re-enter the corporate environment, many of the middle-to-top positions will have been taken up by the ambitious and aspirant men in the organisation.

Add this to longer hours, more travel to build relationships with customers and increase your knowledge in your field, conferences and strategy sessions which often go on long into the night and sometimes over weekends. Many women will drop out at this point if they don’t have a stable support network at home or through guilt.

Giving my all in each moment

I have had so many conversations with myself and with God about whether I would make it through this whirlwind of work demands and family responsibilities. Still, most often I would come out of these ongoing debates in my head and heart, without a clear answer, but with an earnest desire to put one foot in front of the other and give my all in the moment I was in, whether that was at work or at home.

Do I have regrets? Plenty! Mostly for the moments that I missed during my children’s growing years. Corporate companies did not see any ‘behind the scenes’ – you were an employee (man or woman), and you were tasked and measured against the results you produced.

And when you are an over-achiever (nowadays referred to as OCD), you cannot rest until the results are in. During the early years of building my career, using early mornings (2am to 4am) to catch up and plan was commonplace. This included studying, strategising sales, completing marketing assignments as well as planning school lifts, meals, uniforms, activities, care givers and camp preparation for my children while I was away.

There is just no short cut or way around it – and then, when the tea was placed on the boardroom table it was sometimes expected that, as the only woman in the room, I would be responsible to ‘serve’.

Words of women for younger women wanting to pursue a career in the medical and pharmaceutical industries

The advice I have for younger women wanting to enter and achieve in the medical industry is:

• Decide on your motivation – is it to provide the best for your children; money and possessions; power and position; personal achievement?
• Decide on your goals – is it middle management, senior management, executive level or shareholder level?
• Know that there will be sacrifices to be made almost every day, mostly of your time and resources, and some will be very difficult.
• Know that there will be obstacles requiring all of your strength and some of these will be insurmountable.
• Know that failures will happen along the way and you will make the wrong choices.
• Know that you will be in a constant battle with male colleagues for the ‘top spot’ and office politics will be rife.
• Involve your family and children wherever you can in your decisions – especially when it concerns or affects them.
• Always have a good back-up or support system that you can rely on.
• Teach your children good values, morals and ethics – in my case Christian values.
• Find happiness and joy in your work and your achievements – love what you do!
• Aim to always do things better than yesterday!

Eurolab – encouraging growth at every level

At Eurolab we have created opportunity for those who want to succeed – men or women. We have provided equal opportunities based on a person’s skills, attitude and aptitude for a particular job – and have encouraged growth at every level. We involve as many of our staff in as many areas of the business as possible. Whether it be developing new strategies, marketing campaigns, new business ventures – we believe in teaching what we have learnt over the years to the next generation and empowering them to rise up to take the business to the next new and exciting level. We believe in giving them responsibility and allowing them to make mistakes and learn from them; we encourage them to share new ideas and mostly we encourage our staff to be involved in problem solving and come up with solutions.

The challenges facing women in business are enormous because of our emotional attachments – but stay humble, pray, listen and think before you speak, learn as much as you can about your business, its products, your customers and their needs and the people you work with both above and below you in order to get the best out of them to make your company successful!

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Focusing on good nutrition is as important when you’re battling the disease, as your body needs all the help it can get to support your treatment regime, while avoiding the likes of malnutrition, anorexia and cachexia that can result from poor nutrition. 

“Cancer patients often experience appetite loss as they proceed through treatment protocols, or their tumour may impact their ability to swallow or digest food and absorb nutrients,” explains Lynne du Toit, group CEO at Eurolab, a leading South African producer and distributor of generic cancer treatment products. 

“Many treatments affect taste and smell too, which further impacts appetite loss. Mouth ulcers, nausea and diarrhoea are very common in patients undergoing treatment for various forms of cancer,” she adds. 

An inability to eat or properly digest food leads to malnutrition, which negatively impacts a patient’s quality of life and can also lead to higher rates of readmission to hospital, or longer hospital stays. It can also reduce their response to treatment, and in the long term, their survival. 

Improving nutrition is one of the most important ways to fight cancer and should start by working closely with a dietician or nutritionist, who can recommend the best possible combinations of proteins, carbohydrates and other essential nutrients. It’s vital that you choose pasteurised drinks and that you wash your fresh fruit and vegetables well before eating, as you may be more susceptible to infections and food-borne illnesses during treatment. 

Other top tips for eating well during cancer treatment include: 

• Fill half your plate with vegetables and fruits
• Choose lean proteins. Red meats can taste metallic, so chicken, turkey or fish are often more palatable to cancer patients
• Pasteurised full-fat milk, with or without protein powder supplements, contains high calories and protein, if you don’t feel like solid protein
• Avoid raw seafood such as sushi or uncooked oysters, or raw nuts
• Have a leafy salad whenever you can, unless you’ve been told to avoid raw foods
• Avoid rich and spicy  flavours – plain food is easier to digest
• Choose whole grain breads and cereals
• Clear broths or strained soups are a great way to receive nourishment and nutrients for patients struggling to chew
• If you struggle with  big meals, rather have smaller portions, more often 
• Eat regularly – even if it’s just a small snack – to maintain energy levels
• Don’t use vitamin supplements unless prescribed by your oncologist  

“It’s important to try and build your immune system as much as possible before having any surgery or starting treatment,” du Toit cautions. “There is simply no substitute for a well-balanced diet. Fresh fruit and vegetables, adequate portions, and plenty of water to keep you hydrated throughout your treatment is essential.”

“Having a dietician travel this journey with you, to help you plan your meals taking your own particular preferences and needs into consideration, will go a long way to providing optimum nutrition and supporting your body on its journey back to health.”

ends

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The Gamma Knife delivers exceptional precision and accuracy, using 192 radiation beams generated from radioactive cobalt and targeted to a specific area affected by a tumour. Its high level of precision and ability to focus on an exact target ensures that the risk of the inaccuracies and radiation affecting healthy tissue are minimal. 

The cutting-edge technology is a first for the Southern Hemisphere and fourth globally, and was introduced to South Africa by Gamma KnifeSA – a collaboration between  Eurolab, a local market-leading oncology company and Netcare, South Africa’s largest private hospital group. 

Lynne du Toit, CEO of Eurolab, says the Gamma Knife places South Africa on the map to providing patients with the benefits of a less surgically-invasive treatment, which has already treated over one million patients around the world, and makes cancer treatment more affordable to South Africans. 

“This world-class radiosurgery technology has already started changing the lives of South Africans living with cancer, and it is these patients that drive everything we do at Eurolab,” says du Toit. “Our whole-of-cancer approach focuses on the patient, their health, and relieving their financial stress, during and after their life-threatening illness.” 

In comparison to traditional radiation approaches, the benefits to Gamma Knife treatment are substantial. Gamma Knife treatment spares surrounding healthy tissue and provides higher and more effective treatment doses in fewer treatments resulting in reduced patient recovery time. 

A patient’s individual Gamma Knife treatment plan is formulated by a specialised multidisciplinary team and is usually completed in a few hours, with little to no side effects. 

“While local treatment success rates can only be successfully evaluated after a 6 to 18 month cycle per patient, the global growth rate of functional cases treated with Gamma Knife in the last five years is currently 49.2%,” says du Toit. 

The Gamma Knife can also be used for treatment of recurrent gliomas, acoustic neuromas (vestibular schwannomas), post-surgical pituitary tumours, vascular malformations, trigeminal neuralgia and medication-refractory essential tremors. 

“With high costs associated to travelling abroad, South African patients no longer have to travel overseas to receive this advanced radiosurgery treatment. Eurolab offers an uncompromising commitment to our whole-of-cancer approach, including investing in bringing the Gamma Knife to South Africa, in partnership with Netcare,” says du Toit. 

ends

The post Cutting-edge radiosurgery technology available in Southern Africa Oncology patients to benefit from less surgically-invasive cancer treatment first appeared on Eurolab.