A terminal atmosphere

Evelyn Itumeleng is confined to a wheelchair in her Kagiso home west of Johannesburg. She is one of hundreds of thousands of South Africans suffering from infectious and non-commuicable diseases. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Itumeleng is comforted by palliative care nurse Snowy Nkoana (left). They laugh together over Itumeleng's steadfast dedication to complete a memory book on the table the major events in her life for her children. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Nkoana trudges up a street in Munsieville, an impoverished township near Krugersdorp. She says after years of public health campaigns too many South Africans still die as a result of HIV. (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Morphine keeps throat cancer patient Abraham Motlabane alive. "I can feel the cancer spreading through my body. But I’m happy because I have people who care for me.” (Photo by Darren Taylor)

Motlabane feeds himself through a white pipe below his chin that enters a hole in his stomach. The pipe also helps him to breathe and to talk through a hole in his throat. (Photo by Darren Taylor)
 

Cancer patient Jack Kieser says his pain is sometimes unbearable, but the former footballer still wants to live. "I can't see myself sitting in a wheelchair all day." (Photo by Darren Taylor)