Police officer wins 9-year cancer battle
My brother said they were not ready to bury me... – Margaret Marshall
SENIOR police officer Margaret Marshall had one of her breasts removed during her nine-year battle with cancer.
Last week she shared her journey during the Fiji Police Force’s Pinktober morning tea in Nasinu.
Ms Marshall was diagnosed with cancer in 2011 while she was serving as a crime officer.
She said she was determined to keep this sad news to herself and not share it with her family, but she was unsuccessful as her family gradually found out about her condition.
Today, Ms Marshall serves as the deputy director of the Fiji Police Forensic Services.
She vividly remembers the first operation she had to go through in 2011 at the then private hospital in Suva.
The 50-year-old said words of encouragement from her family kept her strong.
“My brother said they were not ready to bury me yet and that I have nieces and nephews that I needed to live for.
“After my first operation in 2011 at the private hospital, I woke up and saw the former Commissioner of Police Ioane Naivalurua and his personal staff officer standing next to my bed, and since it has been instilled in me all throughout my policing life, I immediately sat up to acknowledge his presence.
“His words to me which I will never forget were, ‘Eda
tou mai Vanua Levu ma’a ni dau su’a I muri, Duri ca’e
(people from Vanua Levu do not give up easily, we keep moving forward).
“From that time I have never allowed the illness to take over my life and I can stand here and say I don’t have cancer.”
The senior police officer said despite the challenges, she was determined to achieve her career goals.
She said reaching the pinnacle of her career in forensics was a testament that cancer could be fought and won through early detection and intervention.
According to a statement that was released by police, Ms Marshall has led her forensic team to the most difficult of crime scenes — such as the site of the ill-fated plane crash at Delaikoro Mountain on Vanua Levu, and the recent high profile murder case in the Nausori Highlands.
Ms Marshall also urged women officers to seek medical help and checks.