“In 2015 I was diagnosed with breast
cancer. I was 17 and doing Grade 11 at
Southdowns College. I was oblivious to
the changes that were about to happen
in my life. Weirdly enough, earlier that
year, one of our teachers called all the
girls aside after assembly and shared
her breast cancer story. She told us
about the importance of self-checking
and said one in every three women will
be diagnosed with breast cancer. Sitting
in that room, I didn’t even think that I
would be one of them.
There wasn’t a build-up of events, but
I woke up one morning and felt a huge
lump on my left breast. It was blueish-
green in colour but it didn’t hurt. I told
my parents about it and we went to the
doctor who gave me medication to try
for a week. She thought it was hormonal
but when I went back the following
week, she decided to do a biopsy. I had
continuous tests from August until
November. I was then referred to a
specialist who diagnosed me with a rare
form of cancer called angiosarcoma of
the breast. This cancer grows within the
blood vessels and can move to any part
of the body.
I was distraught. I had been going
to the hospital for three months doing
tests and biopsies and they hadn’t told
me anything. I was later told that they
had to operate and my first surgery
to remove the lump was scheduled.
They removed the lump, which almost
weighed a kilogram, and I went back
home. The following week, I went back
to Milpark Hospital for a check-up and
they told me that they unfortunately had
to go back in and take out more tissue to
ensure that they had everything out. It
was a precautionary measure and they
also removed a muscle from my back
to help reconstruct my breast with an
implant.
This was in December 2015 and
luckily, I didn’t need to do chemo or
radiation because they felt that they
got the cancer and that I was young
so I would fully recover. We had,
fortunately, detected my lump early and
I was diagnosed in time, so I didn’t need
aggressive treatment.The following
year, I was in Grade 12 and had to feel
beautiful for my matric dance but I
wasn’t feeling anything close to it. I
had just got a dummy breast and had
to get a filler for my bra so that no one
would notice the difference in the sizes
of my breasts. In April that year, I also
had to have a nipple reconstruction
because they had cut my nipple during
the first surgery I had. This was toensure that once the reconstruction
surgery happened, my boobs would
be symmetrical and my nipples would
match. I was then given an all-clear.
I was on the road to recovery and
pursuing my dreams. I had enrolled at96 |^ OCTOBER^2019 | WWW.TRUELOVE.CO.ZA
By SISONKE LABASEVelisaSishuba, 22 , firstgotdiagnosedwith
a rareformofbreastcancerat 17 andbeatthe
deadly disease not once, but, twice. She shares
her story of triumph and inspirationI CONQUERED
CANCER