I will describe myself as a meticulous, conscious, and finicky 55-year-old woman when it comes to healthcare and food.
I have always been an advocate of this especially after having become more aware that once you’re close to the age of 35/40yrs, it is very important that we become mindful of what we eat so as not to fall victim to any terminal disease. This belief has motivated me to judiciously follow up with my routine medical checkup, including the checking of my BP and my breasts for any possible lump or otherwise.
In fact, on numerous occasions, I have visited the doctor’s office whenever I have any slight suspicion or notice any unusual change in my breasts, which were always found to be normal.
However, in August 2012, I noticed a hardness on the right side of my right breast but because the emphasis had always been on looking out for lumps, I disregarded it and I thought it to be hormonal imbalance which would disappear with time. But this didn’t and I became uncomfortable. I visited a surgeon who first told me that he would remove it but would still have to be analyzed in the laboratory. He made it clear that if the test came back positive, he would go on to perform a total mastectomy. I told him I would prefer to get it tested before going under the knife at all! I was uncomfortable and I called my elder sister who happened to be a nurse to inform her of my situation.
My sister asked me to come to her hospital to see a senior doctor there. On getting there, I was asked to go for some tests which included a fine needle aspiration test. After some days, I went to collect the result. I didn’t open the result at the lab. It was on my way back home that I opened the result on the road and found out that it was stage 3 malignant breast cancer. While walking, I made a call to my friend to inform her and as we spoke I broke down in tears. The reality of the word of God in Job 3:26 dawned on me. “For the thing, I greatly feared has come upon me, And what I dreaded has happened to me”. Later, along with my elder sister, I took the result to the doctor. After the surgeon read the result he asked me to look into his eyes. He asked, “where is your husband?” I told him he was not around because I was going through a turbulent marriage which later ended in divorce. He said, “tell him I am going to remove that breast.” He said I needed to take the decision and get back to him the next day which was a Tuesday. He went on further to say he would be going for his leave on Friday so I needed to check in to the hospital on Wednesday.
Choosing to move forward was a serious decision to make. The first question I asked was “am I going to survive?” He answered “yes.” At this point, my sister was crying uncontrollably. Later that day, we called all my siblings to give them the situation report because they had been supportive of me from the onset and were wonderful. It was a rude shock to them bearing in mind that we never had a history of cancer our my family.
I only had a few hours to plan myself before checking in to the hospital for the surgery and simultaneously arrange where my children would stay. A sister in the church helped accommodate my children. She was wonderful! On September 12, 2012, I checked into the hospital and the surgery was successfully done on September 13, 2012, to the glory of God Almighty. I spent 3 weeks in the hospital and I was later referred to LASUTH {Lagos University Teaching Hospital} for Chemotherapy treatment and Radiotherapy thereafter.
It was during my recuperation that my sister mentioned the organization C.O.P.E to me and I gave them a call. The CEO, Aunty Ebun, advised me to allow myself to be fit before I visited the organization. With my referral, I was booked for Chemotherapy in LASUTH where I was asked to run some other tests and was told I would get 6 courses of chemotherapy, 3 weeks apart.
During this period, I experienced a loss of appetite, tastelessness, alopecia, darkening of nails, weight loss, serious nausea, etc. It was like a deadly journey. All my treatments consumed a large sum of my financial resources. However, because all my extended family were involved and financially supportive it was easier for me. I am also thankful to my very faithful, loving and dutiful friend who came to stay with me and stood by me right from the day that I called to inform her of my test result up until my last chemotherapy treatment. She also cared for my children.
After the chemotherapy, I was asked to go for radiotherapy. Radiotherapy was another journey on its own. I had to run a series of tests before I was certified to start. That took me another 3 or 4 weeks. The idea was that throughout that period water must not touch the affected breast and the breast must always be kept dry by powdering it. I solicited financial support from C.O.P.E who was able to assist me. I was so grateful. However, I know that it was the sheer grace of the Almighty God that has allowed me to live beyond the unimaginable!
