‘We need to break that barrier’
IN 2014, Salote Ritova discovered a lump in her breast and found out later that she had breast cancer.
And in the midst of trying to cope with the news, her husband and son were involved in a motor vehicle accident and were both admitted in hospital.
“It was like receiving heavy punches, negative thoughts came over my mind, there was fear and worry within me,” she said.
“I tried to hide it and go through the battle alone, however, breaking the silence to my husband was by far the hardest thing I have ever had to do.
“And even in his condition, trying to recover from the accident, he was so supportive. He convinced me to go for proper treatment.”
Mrs Ritova found out after her first biopsy in 2015 that the lump was a haematoma — a solid swelling of clotted blood within tissue.
“In 2016 I kept dodging the issue, trying to ignore how serious the condition I had was.
“In 2017 I had to face facts when test results came back that the haematoma was cancerous.”
She said after agreeing to a mastectomy she went through four cycles of chemotherapy.
“The first fear I went through was the fear of being judged by neighbours and friends.
“In such situations, we need to break that barrier. And it really draws a lot out of you, just trying to be bold and courageous in the midst of the battle and the hardest part was trying to stop all the negative thoughts.”
Mrs Ritova said she encouraged women to take better care of themselves and to seek early treatment if they felt something was not right.
In such situations, we need to break that barrier. And it really draws a lot out of you, just trying to be bold and courageous in the midst of the battle and the hardest part was trying to stop all the negative thoughts
– Salote Ritova