About Us
The H.E.A.T. Foundation aims to address the inequity in Cancer treatment in the public
healthcare system in South Africa, by installing modulated electro-hyperthermia devices that have demonstrated cost saving and improved treatment outcomes for certain cancer types in our public hospitals.
Once installed, the devices will be used to treat patients with tumours that have
demonstrated a good response to the treatment.
The H.E.A.T. Foundation is an all women owned and led Public Benefit Organisation
dedicated to improving the survival and addressing the inequity in cancer treatment in public healthcare in South Africa. The Foundation also supports training, upskilling, job creation and scarce-skills development in medical sciences and oncology, with a focus on women and disadvantaged populations.
Research and Development
The core work of the H.E.A.T. Foundation is the research and development of
additional protocols for additional tumour types that the devices can treat, extending
the indications of the treatment to other cancers. Treating our vulnerable population:
women, children, and HIV-positive cancer patients is the focus of the research activities.
Ultimately, the research and treatments could be applied to Low-and-Middle-Income
Countries in Africa and globally.
The Foundation is actively engaging in potential partners to raise funds to achieve our goals.
Founding Members
Dr Carrie Minnaar
MSc, PhD Radiation Sciences (Wits)
Dr Carrie Minnaar
https://www.linkedin.com/in/carrie-minnaar-76b49216/
https://onc-hyperthermia.co.za/
Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director; Oncologic Hyperthermia
Specialist
Dr Carrie Anne Minnaar is a Radiation Scientist and leading expert in oncologic hyperthermia. She completed her PhD in Radiation Sciences at the University of the Witwatersrand in 2019, focusing on improving cancer outcomes in vulnerable populations, including HIV-positive and low-income patients. She has led pioneering clinical trials demonstrating the impact of modulated electro-hyperthermia in public-sector oncology. Dr Minnaar’s work is dedicated to expanding equitable access to advanced cancer treatment and strengthening research capacity in South Africa.
Dr. Prinitha Pillay
BSc. Hons (Wits), MBBCH (Wits), MSc in Infectious Diseases
Dr Prinitha Pillay, Co-Founder, HEAT Foundation | In Memoriam
Dr Prinitha Pillay was a founding member of the HEAT Foundation, a radiation oncologist, humanitarian doctor, researcher and tireless advocate for equitable healthcare.
Throughout her career, Prinitha believed that access to quality healthcare was a fundamental human right. From her years working in humanitarian medicine with Médecins Sans Frontières to her work in public health advocacy and, ultimately, oncology, she consistently chose to stand alongside people who were vulnerable, underserved or without a voice.
That same conviction helped shape the HEAT Foundation.
Prinitha believed that advances in cancer treatment should not be determined by a patient’s financial circumstances or where they happened to receive their care. She helped establish HEAT around a shared vision of making evidence-based hyperthermia treatment accessible within South Africa’s public healthcare system and ensuring that research translates into meaningful improvements in patients’ lives.
She brought to the Foundation not only her considerable clinical knowledge and experience, but her compassion, courage, humanity and unwavering sense of justice.
Prinitha passed away in September 2026, leaving an immeasurable loss to her family, friends, patients, colleagues and to the HEAT Foundation.
Her place within HEAT does not end with her passing.
The principles she stood for — equity, dignity, compassion, advocacy and the belief that every patient matters — remain woven into the Foundation she helped create. As HEAT grows and the work we began together reaches more patients, we will continue to carry those principles forward.
Dr Prinitha Pillay will always be a co-founder of the HEAT Foundation, and an enduring part of its story.
