‘How I defeated breast cancer’

''When I heard  it was cancer, it sounded like a bombshell'

'I used to have slight discomforts whenever I applied cream around my breasts'

 Patsy Ikechukwu, a breast cancer survivor left the shores of Nigeria in 1997 to Belgium where she became a citizen after 12 years. That was in April 9^th 2009 and that was when she returned back to Nigeria to take care of her two siblings after the death of her mother who died due to diabetes related complications.  Barely a month later, she discovered she had been living with cancer of the breast. “When I woke up that morning on May 15^th 2009 to be precise, I went for medical check-up not because I suspected cancer but because I lost my nine months old nephew to cardiopulmonary and I wanted to be sure it didn't run in the family. Luckily everything was okay but when I was about to leave the hospital, I remembered I used to have slight discomforts whenever I applied cream around my breasts. My doctor asked when I had my breasts checked and I said never, so she sent me to the breast clinic,” she said.

That was when she did mammography. “And they said they discovered something on my right breast, that it may just be a cyst. I was asked to do a biopsy where a small piece of the breast tissue was removed for testing. I was asked to come back in three days for the result. I was nervous, anxious and scared and I had to plead to her that I couldn’t wait for that long. She told me to come back the next day by 4pm. But guess what? The hand of the clock was slow. I even took a walk just to be distracted. So, by 4pm the next day I was already waiting, praying in my mind and hoping that all was a dream. But it wasn't a dream because the doctor did come to me and said the words nobody would want to hear. ‘I am sorry. It is cancer!’ That sounded like a bombshell. In fact it was a bombshell.  My treatment commenced almost immediately. I started with radiation and chemotherapy,” she stressed.
Patsy is alive to tell her story “ because I observed it early. Early detection  is  key and that is why I keep saying that self breast examination is important because it helps you look for help early. And how to go about it is by lying down and gently massage your breast with the tips of your fingers especially after your monthly circle. If there is any strange thing you observed, don’t keep it to yourself, go see your doctor,” she said.
And when she was diagnosed, she was scared but “ I didn’t see it as a death sentence because I knew I was in good hands. But honestly, that very night when I came back from the hospital, I wasn’t able to sleep well. I was scared and I started reading more about breast cancer on the internet and anything I could lay my hands on concerning breast cancer,” she remembered.

Patsy said the lump on her breast “looked  like a punctured hole. So, when it was discovered I started receiving treatment  wasting no time. And the treatment wasn’t easy for me. I didn’t have enough B12 in my body and I later read it that B12 deficiency was bad. The treatment/medication was draining my B12, so it wasn’t easy for me,” she said, in a low voice.

She suspected that what caused the cancer was “the synthetic chemicals that I was taking. For example I consumed a lot of artificial sweetener. I used to take a lot of it in my coffee, in my tea and everything that I drank . But later I found out that it was bad taking too much of it, I had to stop. I goggled it on line and saw the side effects of that sweetener I was taking. And one of the side effects/dangers was what I had-cancer! That was why I concluded that it was what caused it for me because I never had cancer in my family. It was what I consumed that caused mine. You have to get inflammatory foods out of your system. And inflammatory foods are mostly packaged foods. Remember our forefathers never ate such foods and that is why they never had cancer. 

So, invariably, what one eats can cause cancer. Watch it! If you doubt this ask your grandfather whether he saw some children having cancer, he would tell you no! In my generation, in my life, I’m the first person to ever had cancer. So, keep carcinogenic foods out of your life. Also watch the kind of cream you apply on your skin. Some contain things that can cause cancer. When you apply cream on your body, you massage on your body and it disappears, it means it has gone into your body and into your blood stream. So, watch what you apply on your body,” she enthused.

Now that she has conquered cancer, her lifestyle has totally changed so as not to have it again. “I don’t eat anyhow, neither do I drink any thing any how. I no longer eat things  that have chemicals. I eat mainly natural foods. I avoid soft drinks like a plague,” she said.

Now that the lump in her breast had gone, would she be able to breast feed? “Yes, I can breast feed. Though I had surgery on my breast but it wasn’t the whole of my breast that was tampered with. I thank God because I detected  it early. When I was examined my doctor said mine was stage one breast cancer. Meaning that it hadn’t spread. But I need to be careful with how I live and what I consume because I have seen cases of patients with stage one breast cancer whose lump came back after treatment. So, one’s lifestyle after survival is the key.Try also to boost your immune system.  Mine was down and that was what resulted in the problem I had. So, try and eat foods that would boost your immune system else you are looking for trouble,” she stressed.

But, in all honesty, does  she  nurse some fears that it might reoccur having seen  patients with stage one cancer surviving it and having it again? “Initially I was very worried but when I started taking something to boost my immune system, my fears have been doused. Now, I believe I can never have cancer again.And I make my boast in the Lord," she said, finally.

By ADAEZE AMOS

"I won't have breast cancer again and I make my boast in the Lord"