HEALTH & MEDICINE
Breast cancer : Fighting every woman ’ s nightmare
BY TENDAYI GWATA
I
was diagnosed with Stage 3 Her2 positive breast cancer . This is a type of breast cancer occurs in 20 % of those diagnosed with the disease . Being Her2 + ve means that there is a protein in your system that drives the cancer to grow .
Some breast cancers are Estrogen positive and Progesterone positive which means their growth is hormone driven and some are Triple-negative breast cancer , which means they are negative for estrogen and progesterone , and the protein HER2 . Triple negative breast cancer it is one of the most aggressive types of breast cancer and most difficult to treat .
I first discovered the lump in breast one morning , because it actually hurt . It was a kind of throbbing pain and I could feel a lump . I remember not being too sure and thinking it could just be one of those monthly menstrual lumps you sometimes get . I had no reference point because I hadn ’ t been very good about doing my monthly self-checks and my annual mammogram and scan . So I went to the trauma center , where they sent me on for a scan .
They confirmed the diagnosis doing a number of things , firstly I had an ultrasound scan , and then from the scan they did a mammogram , which gave a clearer indication , that is could be cancer . So from there I needed to have a biopsy .
At that point , I was informed that because it was in the breast area and also because it was quite a large lump , I would need a plastic surgeon to remove the lump . That ’ s when I discovered that we have 2 plastic surgeons servicing the whole country and that both at the time were not in the country and both not due back within the next couple of weeks . Panic ensued . My family and I sat down to weigh the options and we decided that I would seek medical assistance in South Africa . Which turns out to have been a very good decision , because at the initial scan my tumour was 4cm wide and 1cm high and 3 weeks later at my last scan before starting treatment it had grown to 4x5cm in size . The cancer had also spread to my armpit .
The biopsy was done with local anesthetic , so I was awake which was scary . The radiologist who did the scan was a no nonsense , straight talking type of doctor , I remember asking her how bad she though it was and her exact words were “ My dear you in for a very rough time ahead of you ”. They did both a core needle and fine needle biopsy , both are basically a needle that is pushed through your skin and flesh to the area in question and a sample is retrieved for testing . The difference between the two is that ; a fine needle biopsy uses a fine needle and syringe to take a sample of cells and a core needle biopsy uses a hollow needle to get a sample of breast tissue and because tissue is taken rather than cells , it gives more detailed information . These samples were then tested and this where they were able to confirm that it was indeed breast cancer .
I then had to wait a couple of days while they did the tests on the samples they had taken . Eventually on Friday morning , I went to meet my surgeon who sat me down gave me the confirmation . I remember my vision going blurry and then black . For a few seconds I couldn ’ t see or hear anything . I didn ’ t cry then , I just remember asking what happens next and being told that I would need to make an appointment to meet an oncologist the next week to discuss treatment options . I remember the surgeon giving me a book on breast cancer and suggesting I read through it before my next appointment . Turned out to be a great book and it got me to start doing more research about my situation so that at my next appointment I would be prepared with questions .
The following week after my diagnosis ,
I had my first appointment with my oncologist . I had never met her before ; she is part of a team that would work with my surgeon during my cancer journey . Wow , what an amazing woman ! I liked her immediately because she was also a no nonsense person ( It seemed that I would be meeting more people like this as I went along which is great because I really appreciate people who tell you like it is especially at a time like that ), she sat me down , immediately told me that my diagnosis was not a death sentence and that breast cancer treatment has come a long way with very decent survival rates .
She explained that I would need to have a few more tests , before starting treatment , as they needed to confirm the type of breast cancer , and the stage . The tests included ; blood tests and a CT scan , which confirmed that I had Her2 positive , Stage 3 Breast cancer .
There are 5 stages of breast cancer from Stage 0 to Stage 4 . By the time you get to Stage 4 , it usually means that the cancer has spread to other organs , such as the bones , lungs , brain , liver , lymph nodes or
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