By Zawadi Lompisha

In the past two weeks, I have taken time to consider different aspects of breast cancer. This being the breast cancer awareness month, I have found myself zealously browsing the web for more information.

As with such breast awareness campaigns, I was encouraged by the efforts being made to get more women to get a check-up. This year, more centres have been set up and kudos to all the organisations doing this.

It has now become mandatory for me to have my breasts checked every October. Once again, I thankfully passed the test this year.

However, I asked myself what I would do if the tests turned out positive. I then went browsing on stories of how different women who had tested positive reacted to the terrifying news.

One of them, whom I shall call Sue, went for an annual mammogram and unlike before, when the test was conducted in a very short time, this time it took longer, causing her a lot of anxiety.

And when a sombre looking nurse invited her into the doctor’s office for a chat, her anxiety heightened.

She learned that there was a lump in her breast and that she needed to take further tests. The tests revealed the lump was cancerous and had to be removed, through a procedure called a lumpectomy.

Sue expressed some relief in the knowledge that it was only the lump being removed as opposed to her entire breast.

However, she still worried about how lopsided she would look after that. After the surgery, she needed to go through radiation for a five weeks and also had to deal with the resultant pain in her breast.

Sue also expressed fear that her boyfriend would leave her and it took a long while for her to muster the courage to talk to him about it. Happily, they have now been married for five years.

Sue had remarked that it is important for the woman to take any chance she can get to save her breast, but that has to be balanced with saving your life.

Then there was Mercy, whose mammogram revealed a very invasive tumour in her breast and though doctors told her they could perform a lumpectomy with reasonable chances of removing all the cancer, they proposed a mastectomy.

She was of the view that rather than settle for the finality of losing a breast, she would rather opt for the lumpectomy, no matter how much breast she would lose.

After surgery, she felt very deformed and wondered how she could ever stand before her husband again.

He, on the other hand, worried about her self esteem and, she gratefully confessed, had done a tremendous job of reassuring her that she was still the woman of his dreams, whether she had half a breast or not. This helped her accept her new look and it restored her self-esteem.

Mercy also mentioned how uncomfortable the whole process was, especially having to go through three surgeries to ensure that all the cancerous cells had been eliminated and the healing process thereafter.

Key for me in Mercy’s stories was the support she got from her husband. They had gone through the difficult process of diagnosis, treatment and recovery together. He also played a huge role in being there to share their fears and anxious moments and in agreeing that this was not the end.

They had a future ahead of them and would live without letting the shadow of breast cancer hinder them from planning for future and enjoying the present.

One of the most amazing stories I came across was from a woman called Emily. She was diagnosed with a form of breast cancer that made full removal of her breast the only option.

As she worked through the imminent loss of her breast, she decided to have both removed in order to, in her words, maintain proper symmetry. Wow! It was a choice she agonised over, but felt she needed to take.

Emily encouraged me further because she said that going through breast cancer was perhaps one of the best things that happened to her.

She enthused about her passion for life and the opportunity living with breast cancer gave her to care about other women’s lives. She decided to do all she could to educate women about breast cancer. She said how she had stopped living for herself alone and realised what a joy that brought to her life.

"If I had to make the choice about my breasts, I would do the same thing again!" she said.

These stories and many others I read led me to a fresh perspective in dealing with potential risks to my life.

Many women live with the same fear of being diagnosed with breast cancer. However, Sue, Mercy and Emily have shown me that rather than be fearful, a right mentality makes one an over comer rather than a victim.

Should it ever happen to me, can I really claim to be a survivor? Sue had also mentioned that God is always there, in each circumstance, and that knowledge had given her the strength to tough it out through the difficult and lonely moments of dealing with the disease.

All three women expressed the confidence that if one had a positive outlook, it was possible to live a victorious life after receiving the terrible diagnosis that breast cancer is.