‘I need to get an operation to remove the tumours next to my heart’: Anele Mda pleads for donations to cover medical bills
· Citizen
TV and radio commentator and political activist Anele Mda has appealed for public assistance to help cover her medical expenses.
Mda said she has been diagnosed with liver failure and cysts near the pancreas. She added that she needs to raise at least R195 000 for treatment and surgery.
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In a statement shared on social media, Mda said her illness began in 2025.
“In the middle of 2025 I fell ill but it was not something I took serious until I started having persistent issues,” the statement read.
She said her condition worsened despite seeking medical help.
“I consulted different doctors, and they gave me prescriptions which none of them helped me,” she said. “Towards the end of 2025, I was losing weight and having multiple health problems.”
Mda said she was later admitted to hospital after collapsing.
“It was when I fainted and had loss of oxygen that I was taken to hospital where I was admitted and it was life threatening medical diagnosis was made. I had to be taken to theater for emergency surgery,” she said.
She said complications followed after the procedure.
“After operation, multiple complications began and I was in the hospital for 2 months,” she said.
Mda said she was re-admitted earlier this year after further medical issues.
“Early this year I was re-admitted in hospital after I had started vomiting blood endless nose bleeding and a mild stroke,” she said.
Financial pressure
Mda said she faced financial strain after her medical aid did not fully cover her treatment.
“My medical aid refused to approve all my hospitalization, treatments and medical procedures and I was forced to make cash co-payments as they paid only 40%,” she said.
She said she has spent about R450 000 on medical care over the past seven months.
“For the past 7 months of my hospitalization I have paid almost R450 thousand for hospital admission, tests, treatments, surgeries, post surgery and even seeking medical help from public hospitals,” she said.
More health complications
Mda said doctors later identified further complications requiring urgent intervention.
“I am now facing another problem where there are tumours close to my heart which have been found and also my blood is clotting which makes it difficult for drip to get in,” she said.
She said she urgently needs surgery and financial assistance.
“My urgent need now is to get the operation to remove the tumours next to my heart which my doctors have indicated that they are in a dangerous position to block blood flow in the veins from the heart.”
She added: “I need to raise R195 000 for the complete treatment and surgery.”