Following the Breast Cancer Awareness Month which is celebrated every October, a number of breast cancer survivors in the United States and around the world have been sharing their stories and the journey to total recovery from the fatal, debilitating disease.
The experience of most women when the news is broken to them is of sadness, fear, and anxiety; but with support from understanding people and cancer groups, coupled with modern treatment procedures that do not necessarily include chemotherapy and surgery, many breast cancer patients have been able to survive the trauma after getting proactive about their treatment and the need to outlive the disease.
A 35-year-old teacher in Saudi Arabia, Fatima S., said her world nearly fell apart when she was diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer. She thought about her children and family and considered whether she was going to be cured of the disease. She became gloomy and thought of death and those she was going to leave behind.
Fatima snapped out of her gloom the day her daughter asked her if she would die. She braced up and stopped feeling sorry for herself. She underwent intensive treatment for a number of months, and now she has been cancer-free for three years. She encouraged other women to rise up and fight for their lives with all their will and reserves.
Another survivor, Haifa, 40, was also very disappointed with life when she was told she had breast cancer. Her cancer was detected at its last stage, but her family and physicians rallied around her and made her a fighter.
"The medications given to me were strong, where I lost my appetite, hair and turned pale. But the support of my family made me brave enough to eliminate cancer from my life," Haifa said, adding that, "the fighting spirit not only helped me to become cancer free, but also helped me meet my inner strength."
She has since opened her own fashion boutique and speaks to other breast cancer patients to develop a fighting spirit and a strong will to live and be cured. Haifa urged other patients to be victors and not losers with breast cancer, and to seek all knowledge about their condition.
Another woman who would not like to be named said she was diagnosed of breast cancer at age 30. She did not have the disease in her family, but a mammogram confirmed that her cyst was cancerous and spreading fast. She ultimately underwent a procedure to have both breasts removed in order to save her life. Today she is a survivor.
Ghada Shehri, who attended the breast cancer awareness campaign, said: "It is important that women learn to break the barrier when it comes to their health issues and such campaigns can help women to be strong and fight breast cancer."