29 Oct 2019

As the curtain draws on the international  Breast Cancer Awareness Month, cancer  survivors such as Ms Antoinette Hamathi can only reminisce about their dreadful journey to overcome the silent killer.

The 55-year-old Serowe native never misses the opportunity to share her experience with others, with emphasis on the importance of early detection.

“I still remember that I started feeling a hard growth on my left breast in December 2013, and within a few months, it had grown into a lump, but it was not painful,” she says in an interview.

What started off as a simple mammogram test escalated to an open biopsy to determine the nature and associated risks of the painless lump. 

For Ms Hamathi, undergoing the tests was a difficult moment because she was also fighting high blood pressure and sugar diabetes. She could not stop wondering about the potential effects, considering other chronic diseases that her body was already dealing with.

She said when the biopsy results were finally revealed in April 2014, her world was shattered. Even though she had known that it was possible for her to test positive for cancer, that fateful day was the most difficult of her life. Even when the medical team was busy explaining the possible options, Ms Hamathi’s main concern was whether the treatment would completely deliver her from the ordeal.

She said her lowest point followed in the six weeks that she underwent radiation. “The pain was both physical and emotional and I avoided talking to people because most of the time they were feeling pity for me,” she noted.

However, Ms Hamathi’s positive outlook on life saw her through the testing period. Even though she was also on oral chemotherapy, she said she never experienced severe side effects that would affect her normal routine. 

In fact, she continued with her day job as secretary at the Department of Crop Production uninterrupted. She was eventually given a clean bill of health this year after five years of oral chemotherapy, but has been advised to do annual mammogram tests.

Throughout the experience, she said, she realised that most people succumb to depression rather than the physical pain itself. Consequently, she advised people to do regular tests so that they could undergo counselling and treatment while there is still time. 

“We need to invest in our bodies by informing ourselves about them and testing regularly in order to manage the symptoms well,” she said.

Even though she appreciates the government’s efforts in educating people and creating awareness about cancer, she still feels there is more that needs to be done to contain the disease. 

Ms Hamathi underscored the need to adopt the same approach for fighting HIV/AIDS, which saw all stakeholders playing a role in the fight. She said this was important because cancer was a silent killer that needed to be detected in the early stages for proper treatment and management. ends