Cancer is beatable
A CANCER diagnosis is, according to most people, as good as a death sentence and it has become increasingly difficult to convince them otherwise.
Even the story of a survivor, which is meant to bring hope, seems to depress even the strongest of individuals.
June was internationally declared as cancer survivors’ month. It is a time for people to celebrate cancer survivors and give them an ear.
If only we could allow ourselves to share our experiences about the disease in all honesty then we would begin to understand that hope is our ally in the war against cancer.
Chariy Makawa, 35, is a cancer survivor first diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2014.
She was diagnosed of breast cancer again in June 2018 shortly after which she was diagnosed with colon cancer in the same month.
Charity has survived cancer, not just once, twice but thrice.
Did you know that some cancers come back only once, while others reappear two or three times?
It’s also possible for one person to be diagnosed with two or even three different types of primary cancers.
This might be at different times in their life or more unusually at the same time.
Different reasons such as family history, genetic defects, hormonal factors, alcohol and environmental influences have been attributed to the development of multiple primary cancers.
As a radiation therapist dealing with cancer patients for the past eight years, I appreciate that it can be hard to come to terms with its diagnosis.
Hearing about two or more diagnoses can be quite overwhelming.
This may sound scary but many people can live for months or years if they get the right treatment.
Makawa is one of them.
Her treatment journey, just like any other cancer warrior, has been nothing short of gut-wrenching, but she wants Zimbabwe to know that cancer is beatable.
She survived it thrice.
She narrates her story: “I found a lump in my breast and went to see my general practitioner (doctor). I had a scan taken and was advised not to worry as it was a fibroadenoma.
“I was shocked to learn that it had developed into a cancer because I was young and had no family history of the disease. I felt angry because I had been proactive and this could have been dealt with earlier on.
“However, God gave me peace and strength for the battle.
“Unfortunately, the breast cancer came back again in January 2018. I was treated with radiation therapy and survived.
“As if that was not enough, a few months down the line, I was having trouble eating and emptying my bowels, further investigations led to a colon cancer diagnosis in June 2018, six months after breast cancer recurrence.
“The colon cancer diagnosis was difficult to accept but the grace of God, the love and support of my family and friends and a supportive employer made it possible for me to pull through.
“My journey with cancer has been an excruciating experience but bearable.
“My grim experience with cancer drove me to charity work as a way of giving back to society. I now help cancer patients with education when I can on sanitation and sharing experience as a breast cancer survivor.
“I know how it feels when one is on cancer diagnosis and got bald so I donate wigs to them.
“My life is now back to normal. I am grateful for being alive and thriving. I want to urge people that when given a chance to live, grab it and make the most of that chance.
“This is because your attitude determines your altitude, faith and a positive mindset are critical in the cancer battle. My advice to anyone suffering from cancer is that it is not a death sentence, there is always hope, it gave me three hard blows but here I am, still standing. It is beatable, it hit me thrice, and I survived.