Building a business while fighting breast cancer

Jade Wyngaardt, founder of Click Africa Digital.

Jade Wyngaardt, the founder of Click Africa Digital at 27, was a young mother of two with a promising business. Although she did not have much growing up, she had something important- big aspirations. Jade and her husband, George, wanted to develop a digital agency that was inclusive, culturally relevant and most importantly, African.

Click Africa Digital agency was founded in January 2016, known as the #thepeoplesagency, it helps everyday entrepreneurs compete online against well-established businesses without having to break the bank. Jade dreamt of making digital for everyone and had a great desire to level the playing field for individuals from disadvantaged backgrounds.

Tragedy strikes

Things were looking up for this bright young woman until something that she never imagined shook her to her core. Five months after launching her business, she discovered a lump in her breast that did not feel right. A couple of months later Jade saw her doctor who sent her to a breast clinic at Groote Schuur, where doctors removed some breast tissue for testing. Although she was ‘young and healthy’, she knew something was wrong.

When doctors finally called her in with the results, Jade was told that she had stage 3 breast cancer. Although she was mentally prepared to hear the news, it was a shock and it took a while for it to really sink in. Her doctors recommended hormone therapy and a double mastectomy and she courageously faced what was to come. A few days before the surgery was scheduled, Jade started to feel a little strange. This was the same feeling that she had experienced when she was expecting her first two children. Jade was completely devastated and in tears when she shared the news of her pregnancy with her husband.

Since her cancer was an aggressive type and was hormone sensitive, the pregnancy could cause cancer to spread. Doctors strongly recommended a termination of pregnancy, so Jade decided it was best to terminate the pregnancy and continue with radiation therapy and chemotherapy.

Fate had other plans. On the day of the surgery, doctors ran out of operation time and were only able to remove one breast. A week later, during her pregnancy termination, a sonogram later revealed that Jade was, in fact, pregnant with twins.

Our journey defines who we are

She had been asking for a sign from God - and she got it. She decided that she would fight like a mother, not only for her own life but for the lives of her children as well. She delivered her miracle babies Judah and Kenya despite a difficult pregnancy, two other children and managing a growing business.

Jade’s advice to others with cancer, “Don’t be afraid. This is the time for courage and to push through, do things on your own terms and trust in yourself and God. Create a good support system and surround yourself with positive people and a smoothie machine”.

Through this tumultuous journey, Jade has found ‘inner resilience’ and the strong mother in her has given her inspiration to go on. Jade has come to believe that, “Our choices define our journey… and our journey defines who we are!”

Drive, courage and creativity

Who we are is always expanding and growing and as Jade’s business and her children grew, her cancer also decided to grow and metastasized once again. But Jade is an unbreakable woman, once again she rose up. In 2018, she was accepted by the SAB Foundation Tholoana programme and was assigned a business mentor by Fetola Business Growth Specialist.

SAB Foundation Tholoana Programme seeks 60 candidates

3 Nov 2017

As fate would have it, her mentor Kevan Wright was also fighting cancer. Together, their drive, courage and creativity have helped grow her business. Against all odds and gruelling chemigraphy sessions, Jade and Kevan are expecting to create magic in the entrepreneurial world.

Starting with no capital, this courageous mother of four has persevered with unwavering determination and has managed to develop a successful digital marketing agency. This is testimony that our ‘inner resources’ are powerful enough to overcome obstacles and that we are not defined by our illnesses but by our unbreakable spirit.