After a routine check-up revealed stage 2 breast cancer, Grace faced an unexpected journey. Her story of preparation, community and choosing life is deeply inspiring.
South Africa (10 March 2026) – As a business analyst specialising in money-laundering surveillance within the financial services sector, Grace Mudarikwa’s work focuses on risk and responsibility. She protects financial systems and vulnerable people from being exploited by illicit activity.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Grace studied computer science in KwaZulu-Natal and built an impeccable career. Her 40th birthday led the way to an exciting new educational endeavour, beginning her PhD.
As life often does, a routine health check threw a curveball Grace wasn’t expecting. She had hoped to be in top health for the extra hours of studying when her GP picked up something that prompted further testing. There it was… Stage 2 breast cancer.
Not shrinking away from the fight, Grace started chemotherapy, and after 5 months, the unexpected happened. The cancer progressed to stage 4. Instead of shrinking, it responded in a way that her medical team had not expected. Grace calmly looked at the road that lay ahead of her and she decided…
“Suddenly, I had to ask myself a real question. Am I preparing to die, or am I preparing to live?”
She decided she was preparing to live! Her medical community rallied to find the best course of treatment.
Her oncologist adjusted her treatment plan immediately, and they followed up with radiation. Her church heard what had happened and rallied to support her, as did her support groups, like Sisonke Sisters. She found certainty in the people around her.
Cancer isn’t an easy road on the body, the mind, or on one’s finances. Grace’s financial advisor knew exactly how to move forward. They had planned for an event like this, having put the right structures in place when Grace was healthier. Now she had the support when things were a little more uncertain.
“That meant I could focus on healing,” she says. “Not paperwork, not panic, just life.”
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As a Profmed member, her medical cover supported her treatment journey. She was able to pivot, to fight and to shift her timeline. She has not changed her purpose and continues with her studies. She has committed to staying current in her field of financial crime prevention and money-laundering surveillance because it is work she believes in deeply.
“This is not just about a career,” she explains. “It’s about community and leaving things better than you found them.”
Grace’s story launches the Profmed BeRemarkable campaign, which is a national storytelling movement that puts South Africa’s professionals at the centre of a bigger conversation about health, community and the future we are all trying to build.
And while some days, her voice may take a strain from the radiation, she has remained upbeat and determined to share her story.
“I love talking. I love eating,” she laughs. “So, when radiation messed with my throat… that was rude. Very rude.”
Her ability to make light of these moments stems from having a community that can laugh alongside her humour-filled days and rally beside her when the going gets tough. She remarks that everyone has their role, and hers is to live!
“When I think of community,” she says, “everyone has their role. Doctors do theirs. The cancer does whatever it’s doing. My role is to live.”
Grace’s BeRemarkable story is one of resilience in the face of uncertainty. It’s her showing up for her commitments, keeping her body moving and sticking with her studies.
“Sometimes it’s just refusing to stop.”
Isn’t that just so raw? Such a true mark of refusing to let cancer take control! And in sharing her story, she is making a real impact, albeit quietly, on the days when she can only whisper.
Grace embodies what it means to be remarkable. She speaks for many professional South Africans who are also juggling careers alongside cancer. Showing that life within the professional space is complex and filled with stories worth sharing.
Grace is a Profmed member whose story is being shared, but there are many, many more incredible stories out there just waiting to be heard.
“Every one of our members has a story that matters,” says Craig Comrie, Profmed’s Chief Executive. “BeRemarkable gives professionals a platform to share what drives them and what they are building. When people see their own experiences reflected in others, trust deepens and community grows.”
To share these stories, Profmed has just launched BeRemarkable, a national campaign that will feature the stories of selected Profmed members, like Grace.
The selected BeRemarkable participants will be professionally filmed and featured across digital and partner platforms, extending their voices to a national audience, showing that everyday people can inspire, that their stories matter too.
So how do you know if your story is one worth telling? It’s simple: if you worked hard, if you sacrificed, if you forged a way forward, it’s a story worth sharing! You can find out more about how to join the BeRemarkable movement here.
Sources: Profmed
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