One encourages women to avoid being hit on the breasts
BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – FOR centuries, breast cancer has been affecting the lives of many women (and some men) the world over, but with recent technological developments and regular self-examination, the illness does not have to be the death sentence it once was.
While many have heard and are hearing about the illness from experts, many, when diagnosed, are not prepared for the experience ahead as they do not have the privilege of hearing first hand from someone or persons who have actually gone through the treatment process.
SKNVibes spoke with Agnes Farrell, a 13-year breast cancer survivor and founder of the Reach for Recovery Breast Cancer Support Group.
She spoke at length about her battle with the disease, and although the battle was not a long one, she is still plagued with after effects to this day and the fear that it may one day reoccur.
"Even before I was diagnosed, I found a lump in April 1998 and I went to the family doctor who said he did not think it was anything but any lump should be removed and so he made arrangements and I had a lumpectomy, which is the removal of the lump and all the surrounding tissues.
"I went in May 1998 for the surgery and this thing had to go away to be tested, and in the meantime I was anxious. I couldn't hear anything for a long time and because I didn't know what it was or could be, I was very anxious. I kept calling the doctor and he said, ‘No news is good news so don't worry.’ But I worried," she explained.
Farrell then received the phone call that would changed her life forever.
"Then I got a call to come to the doctor's office and I said to myself, ‘Well, if it was just to tell me nothing was wrong he would have told me on the phone so something is wrong.’ So I went and just as I feared he told me that the diagnosis was cancer.
"I really did not hear much more after that, I actually had to go back to him at another time for him to explain everything to me because I did not hear anything he said after he told me I had cancer."
Farrell said she was given her options of which she chose to travel to Trinidad, after a long anxious wait to get an appointment, for Radiotherapy - a six-week daily (minus weekends) treatment.
So in September 1998 Farrell was off to Trinidad for her Radiotherapy. She said during treatment, she had to do periodic blood tests to ensure her blood was up to par with what the doctors wanted and, if not, she had to somehow get it to the required level in order to get her treatment.
"There was only one time for me when that happened and someone advised me to take TriHEMIC which really worked well," she said.
After her Radiotherapy, it was home for the December holidays before heading back the Trinidad for Chemotherapy - a six month treatment done every three weeks.
In February 1999 Farrell was off to Trinidad again for another set of treatment.
"It was near to carnival and I wanted to see what Trinidad carnival was like after hearing so much about it. I went in [to the hospital] with a positive spirit, I was casual and I had my first Chemotherapy. I got this strange feeling come over my body. The feeling was, even to this day, indescribable. The feeling was just strange.
"It was alright though, the process did not take long...maybe about five minutes. I was given the injection form (some persons have to take drips). I was taken home. I sat and had lunch and watched soaps with the family I was staying with and then I started feeling sick. I had the chemotherapy around midday and I started feeling sick around 3:00 p.m.
"I kept vomiting and vomiting and vomiting. Luckily I had a room with a half bathroom, so it had the shower and the toilet. That toilet became my friend. If you ever hear anybody say someone hug a toilet...it's me," she said.
Farrell said that because of her constant illness, she was unable to witness the carnival she had so desperately wanted to see.
She said she felt sick for almost a week after her first shot and she came back to St. Kitts to work before going for her second shot three weeks later.
Farrell said she dreaded going for her second shot, as she had started feeling better and knew that she would only get sick again once it was taken.
She also said she once again had to take blood tests every time she went for treatment, noting that her veins had gotten so weak and broken down that they sometimes could not be found, which is something that still affects her to this day.
She went on: "You read about things but you feel perhaps it would not happen to you that way. You read about losing your hair, getting sick and so forth, but you never know to what extent it is going to affect you.
"I lost my hair. At first I had stopped combing it because every time I did some would come out, but when most of it had gone from the sides, the back and the front, I got my hairdresser to just cut off the rest.
"One alarming thing about the Chemotherapy is that it turned any clear spot on my body black. My tongue turned black, the palm of my hands, my fingernails and even the soul of my feet turned black. At first I was scared, but when I went to the doctor I was told that it is normal," she said.
Farrell said her first six Chemotherapy shots were terrible as she got sick soon after and sometimes even during her treatment. She said sometimes while she is in the process of getting the shot she would start throwing up.
She however said that her seventh and eight shots were not as bad, and even though she fell ill, it was not as bad as the others.
"Chemotherapy is not a joke; it is not to be taken lightly. Some people came out of it not too badly off, but quite a number have had the same and worse experience than I have. There is nothing pretty about it," she said.
Farrell said that Chemotherapy has left her unable to climb stairs or hills with the ease she once had. She said she has gone from a woman who loved to hike as a means of staying fit, to one who now dreads it.
She said she and others who had their lymph nodes removed from their breast, are warned not to lift heavy objects, which has now left her unable to assist her 95-year-old mother in some ways.
She went on to state that sometimes the slightest friendly touch on her left hand leaves her in pain.
Farrell said she sometimes feel weak and gets tired quickly, "but I have survived and I give God all the thanks, the honour and the glory. It was not an easy road but I survived".
Support, she said, is important because at times it is the only thing that persons have to hold on to in order to help them push through and not give up when struggling to defeat the cancer.
She said that it is the love and support she received from her small family that kept her going when she felt as though she would not make it.
"Support is very important. I did not have any other support other than my family, and they were a very great source of support to me. I did not want to give up, except when I heard it first...because I was saying, 'Lord I'm going to die now.' But I did not want to give up. I had enough live ones to support me. I don't have a big family but those who are there are loving.
"Whenever I had to go for my Chemotherapy, they would all come to the airport with me and pray with me and wish me well and so forth. So I always went feeling the love of my family and friends and knowing that I had support.”
Farrell said that it is support such as that she received from her friends and family that Reach for Recovery tries to give to persons who may not have the family support needed, and that that is the basis upon which she started the group.
"When you have a family member who is diagnosed with cancer, it is a nerve racking fear and so you must do all that you can to try to encourage and help that person get through," she encouraged.
This media house also had the privilege of learning of another survivor's experience.
Ms. Johnson have been a breast cancer survivor for five years and wastes no time in informing others of her experience with the disease and how close she came to dying.
"I have been a survivor since 2007. I had to have my left breast removed (Mastectomy). The doctor told me I would have to be on a tablet for five years. It is an ordeal to go through because when you are told you have cancer, you are walking on egg shells," she said.
She went on the state that after removing her breast and taking her prescribed medication for only one year, she had to stop because she felt as though she would die.
Ms. Johnson said she later learned that the medication was putting fat around her liver, and she had to be put on a strict diet to get rid of that excess fat.
"I told the doctor I was not going to take any more medication and that I am a believer in faith and I believe that God would heal me. I have not taken anymore medication since and I am still going strong," she proudly stated.
Ms. Johnson said her breast cancer was from a blow she had gotten. She said that a door had blown in on her and struck the side of her breast.
She said she did not go to the doctor to check up on the blow she had gotten and when she was diagnosed, she found out that was the cause because it left a scar which was present at the same spot where the cancer developed.
Ms. Johnson said luckily enough she found out about her cancer early and was able to take measures to tackle it before it was too late.
She however encourages women to try as much as possible to avoid being hit around the bosom area, as it could lead to them getting breast cancer.
"I would like to tell these young women to take care of themselves. Don't get no lick on their breasts or no part of their body for that matter. I want to instil in them not to allow anyone to hit them there.
"Even the rough way some men fondle a woman's breasts when they want to be intimate can cause them, in the long run, to develop breast cancer. A lot of women are not aware of that and it is bad...very bad," Ms. Johnson advised.
Breast cancer is not to be taken lightly, and it is always best to have periodical checks on your breasts. All, both men and women, are encouraged to get the necessary screenings when needed, do regular self checks at home and visit the doctor when anything out of the ordinary is felt.
