16 Oct 2025

 For years, 52-year-old Ms Margaret Linachi lived with worry quietly lodged in her heart, a fear she tried to ignore since her teenage years when she first noticed a lump on her right breast.

It was not painful then, she said in an interview, so she convinced herself it was nothing serious. Later, Ms Linachi said her left breast began discharging pus; mucus mixed with blood but still, she dismissed it.

 “My aunt had similar symptoms and eventually became very sick and died in my arms. Watching her go through that made me too afraid to seek medical help,” she said.

That fear followed her into adulthood. Married and busy raising her family, she said she learned to live with the discomfort until 2019, when everything changed.

“One day, I felt a lump on my left breast but this time, it was different, it was hard as wood and extremely painful, the pain was so bad I couldn’t sleep at night. Even painkillers didn’t help,” Ms Linachi recalled.

The unbearable pain finally pushed her to seek medical attention. After several tests, she waited anxiously for the results, three long months of fear and sleepless nights. While waiting, she said she turned to her faith for strength.

“I went for counselling at my church,” she stated, “I was so anxious, but the counselling helped me find peace and by the time the results came, I had already accepted that whatever it was, I would face it with courage,” said Ms Linachi.

When the results finally came, they confirmed her worst nightmare: it was breast cancer. Ms Linachi said she felt a strange calm going through her body and told herself that if God had allowed, then she would fight to beat the disease.

In April 2020, at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, she underwent surgery. Her doctors told her she was at stage 3B. The cancer had spread to her lymph nodes, and to save her life, they had to remove both breasts.

“It was the hardest moment of my life,” she said softly.

Recovery was long and painful, physically, mentally, and emotionally.

“The wounds were so painful and my body was weak but I was determined to resume with my everyday life,” she said.

Chemotherapy followed, with all its harsh realities, nausea, weakness, hair loss, and exhaustion. The treatment brought with it side effects that tested her strength in ways she never imagined.

“The nausea was unbearable, I would vomit until I felt like I had nothing left inside me,” she said.

She said her nails turned dark and brittle, lost her hair including her eyelashes and eyebrows, her feet would swell and ache and her joints were stiff.

“After each chemotherapy session, instead of lying down like most patients do, I would fight to resume my normal duties. I would cook and clean through the pain. My husband would be shocked at my willingness to work, but I knew in my mind that if I acted sick, the disease would swallow me whole,” she stated.

Her determination became her medicine.

“It was painful, but I had to keep moving. I refused to be sick, I refused to let cancer take my spirit,” she added.

But through all of it, Ms Linachi refused to let the illness break her spirit. Another hurdle came when she had to undergo radiation therapy.

“I approached one private hospital and the charge for radiation was P130,000, and I did not have that kind of money nor medical aid,” she said.

Ms Linachi approached Journey of Hope for assistance but they too did not have funds. Eventually she was able to raise funds for her treatment.

“Radiation burned my skin, the treated area turned dark and painful and I was always tired,” she said.

Today, five years later, she proudly calls herself a survivor.

“Cancer tried to destroy me, but it didn’t win,” she says with a gentle smile. “It taught me to value life, to listen to my body, and to never take health for granted.”

Her message to other women is clear and urgent, “Don’t ignore the signs. Don’t wait like I did. Early detection can save your life.” ENDS