Cancer survivor shares experience
MANZINI – “I was bedridden for 21 months with a CD 4 count of two due to HIV and just after recovery, I was diagnosed with cancer in two instances; but here I am, still standing strong.”
These were the words of an unsung hero who was motivating people during the launch of the 2022 International Breast Cancer Awareness Month at the Millennium Park, Manzini.
*Beyonce, 49, said her milestone to recovery would not have been possible without the positive input of healthcare workers who were patient with her.
The survivor said after spending a year and nine months bedridden at the Raleigh Fitkin Memorial (RFM) Hospital, she recuperated but was diagnosed with cancer in 2019.
Diagnosis
“It was hard to accept my diagnosis as I thought it spelt death for me. Phalala (Fund) took care of me as I was transported to Nelspruit and had chemotherapy,” the survivor said.
Beyonce said a year later; she fell ill again and went back to hospital, wherein she was informed that she had cervical cancer. The survivor said she started seeking medical attention at the Mbabane Government Hospital, where she underwent chemotherapy treatment again.
She thanked Zinhle Ndzinisa and other healthcare workers who took care of cancer patients, while calling upon every person in society to digress from stigmatising cancer. The survivor said many people feared to speak about their diagnosis because of stigma.
Beyonce appealed to communities to extend their support to cancer patients, as she said it eased the burden they shouldered.
The survivor kept the attendees in stitches as she said despite the medical challenges, cars still honked at her while males were also seeking her contact numbers in order to pursue relations with her.
Also, the Eswatini Breast and Cervical Cancer Network Executive Director, Tengetile Kubheka, shared her testimony of how healthcare workers eased the pain faced by people diagnosed with cancer.
Taking from her personal experience wherein her mother complained of abdominal pain which resulted in a number of trips to hospital, Kubheka said as much as her mother lost the battle against cancer shortly after diagnosis, she (mother) had been keen to visit the health facility after meeting a compassionate healthcare worker.
“I believe the compassionate care and support from those caring (healthcare) providers made the pain more bearable. At some point, I thought my mum was enjoying her chats with healthcare workers more during her visits,” Kubheka said.
She said a quote by Mahatma Gandhi – ‘the best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others’, inspired her when thinking of their theme - Closing the care gap: The role of healthcare workers. Kubheka said she agreed that healthcare workers were an instrumental part of the cancer care and treatment continuum.
Courage
She said every patient or survivor had a story to tell which was either filled with fear, anxiety, despair, hope or courage. Kubheka said no two journeys were the same and cancer survivors would tell that hearing another person’s story often eased the burden and even inspired the passion to keep fighting.
World Health Organisation (WHO) country representative for Eswatini, Dr Cornelia Atsyor, said the entire month of October was devoted to raising awareness, in educating individuals about breast cancer, honouring all women living with breast cancer and in remembering those who had passed on from breast cancer.
She said October provided healthcare workers the opportunity to take stock of their accomplishments, and their challenges in breast cancer control, pledging to make sure no one was left behind and in paying attention to those who were at risk of being left behind, especially the poor, those leaving in rural hard-to-reach areas where services were not easily available.
“Timely detection is key for the prevention of breast cancer, and it is one important contributory factor to the overall survival of those living with cancer and it starts with us ensuring regular doing self-breast examination at home,” Dr Atsyor said.
She told a story of *Noni, a 63-year-old from Mbabane, who she said was full of life and vibrance. Dr Atsyor said Noni was very particular about her health and religiously had regular breast examination at home and annual medical check-up which included mammography.
Dr Atsyor said two years ago, Noni went for a routine mammography where the doctors detected a suspicious growth in the left breast that turned out to be the most aggressive breast cancer ever known.
“That begun her journey for surgery, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy for a period of two years after which she was proclaimed free of cancer. Several factors played into this success story. These facts are what are known as the socio-economic determinants or drivers of health. She lived in an urban area within easy reach of several hospitals which are well equipped including mammogram machine which can detect tumours in the breast and with specialists whom she can consult. She is highly educated and therefore aware of the need for regular medical check-up.”
Treatment
DrAtsyor said Noni had a good well-paying job and therefore was able to afford her tests and subsequent treatment which run into thousands of Emalangeni.
All these factors, she said, directly influenced her outcome. She said this story had a happy ending; but unfortunately, this was not the case for a lot of persons living with breast cancer. She said for Eswatini globally, cancer was one of the top 10 leading causes of death.
“In Eswatini, breast cancer is one of the leading causes of ill-health and death among women. Most of us have been touched in one way or the other by breast cancer, either as persons living with breast cancer, or closely related to someone living with breast cancer.”
With all these gloomy statistics, she said, there was a silver lining in the clouds as breast cancer had been one of the well-researched cancers in the world with subsequent great advances in prevention and treatment and with high survival rates if detected and managed promptly.