11-08-2025
Former Miss SA finalist Tamsyn Gerrits opens up about cancer battle
The 28-year-old co-owner and head of paid ads for Jane Doe Media, Tamsyn Gerrits, has shared on her Instagram how she took a dramatic turn for the worse during the Easter weekend.
'On our way to Bellville Melomed ER [emergency room]. Woke up from shooting pain in my left side (abdomen and lower back). Feels like cold metal pressing on the inside and pretty bad nausea,' she said.
The next day, after seeing doctors, Gerrits said: 'The doctor finally saw me. She's very confident it's an ovarian tumour. It's about 16cm in diameter. No CT scan needed. If we don't operate soon I could lose my ovary (ovarian torsion).'
Gerrits, who entered the Miss South Africa pageant and made it all the way to the top five of the 2022 edition, shared how she woke up with a swollen belly one morning which she assumed it was bloating but the mild discomfort wouldn't go away.
She said she looked like she was four or five months' pregnant, but knew she wasn't.
'Every morning my stomach looked round and hard. Not soft or squishy like normal bloating. I knew something wasn't right.'
After being diagnosed Gerrits started her chemotherapy journey and shared the downs she went through. From hair loss to skin reactions, she bared it all online. In one video she revealed she wanted to cut her hair with her sister but had to cut it herself due to the amount of hair loss.
