y grandmawas
diagnosedwith
breastcancerat
80.I wasdiagnosedwith
breastcancerat 22.I firstfelt
thelumpin springlastyear,
andit wasonlyaboutthe
sizeof a marble.I wasn’ttoo
worriedat first,andnorwere
thedoctors,buttheydecided
to doa sonogramto beonthe
safeside(and
becauseI was
consideredtoo
youngfora
mammogram).
Theultrasound
resultswere
suspicious,
sothey
decidedto
doa mammogram.Andthere
it was– a golf-ball-sized
growthin mybreast,which
wasattachedto mypectoral
muscleandgrowinginwards.
A biopsywasthenextport
of call,buttheyweren’table
to extractanyliquidfrom
thelump,leadingthemto
concludethatit wassolid,
andit neededto comeout.
At firstI didn’trealisehow
seriousit was.I didn’tfeel
physicallyill soI didn’tquite
graspthegravityof it. The
doctorswantedto bookme
in thenextday,butI ended
upin surgerythefollowingalwayssaythatwhen
I was 24 yearsoldGod
musthavewhisperedto
me,becauseI decidedto
doa self-examinationonmy
breasts,andI founda lump
in myrightone.I wentfor
a biopsy,andI wasnotified
thatthedoctorshadfound
cancercells.Thelumpwas
almostfourcentimetresin
diameter,andthecancer
hadspreadto mylymph
nodesaswell.I wasthen
giventheoption– thatwasn’t
reallyanoption– to havea
mastectomy.I havealways
hadsmallbreastsandthey
hadto removeallof thetissue
in myrightbreast,soI wasleft
withnothingafterwards.It all
happenedsofast!
Youremembercertain
thingsandcertaindaysof
yourlife,andformeoneof
themwasthedayI wastold
I wasgoingto needchemo.
Thiswaswhenthefactthat
I hadbreastcancersunkin.My
familydidn’tevenknowthefull
extentof whatwasgoingon,
andI keptdownplayinghow
severeit was.I struggledto
believethatthiswasmyreality
becauseeverythingI knew
aboutthediseasesuggestedweek.I thoughtit wouldbe
a low-keyprocedurebut
oncetheystartedto remove
it theysawthat,evenin just
thespaceof a week,the
masshaddoubledin size.
Theytestedit andthen,a
weekaftertheoperation,
thedoctorstoldmetheyhad
goodnewsandbadnews.
Thegoodnewswasthatthey
wereableto removetheentire
lump.Thebadnewswasthat
it wascancerous.
Whentheysaidthe
‘C’wordit wasa surreal
experienceforme.I wasso
detached,I evenfeltbad
tellingpeopleit wascancer
aftertheoperation.I didn’t
wantto tellpeopleI survived
breastcancerbecause
I didn’thaveto gothrough
chemoandI didn’thaveto
havea mastectomy(which
I amextremely
gratefulfor).
Now,however,
I amopenabout
myexperience
becausepeople
needto be
morein tune
withwhat’s
goingonin
theirbodies.Thisdisease
doesn’tdiscriminate.
Growingup,I hadalways
beenself-consciousaboutthe
factthatoneof myboobsis
biggerthantheother,and
thedifferencenowis a lot
moreobvious.ButI have
cometo acceptthem– and
I evenlikemyscar,which
tellsthestoryof whatI went
through.It’sputeverything
intoperspective.When
I goforcastingsI haveto
letthemknowif I haveany
scars.NowI justhaveone
moreto addto mylistof
battlewounds.Elzet Nel, 23,
BREAST
CANCER
M Y T H S- B U S T E D
PinkDrive is
here to set
you straight
MY TH 1: Cancer
is a disease
affecting wealthy and
developed countries.
Fact: Anyone
can get cancer,
no matter who
you are, where
you are from or
what your income
bracket is.
MYTH 2: Breast
cancer only affects
old women so I don’t
need to worry until
I’m older.
Fact: Although
rare, it’s possible
to develop breast
cancer in your teens.
It really doesn’t
discriminate.
MYTH 3:
A diagnosis
of cancer is
a death sentence.
Fact: If a
healthcare
professional
has detected a lump
or cancer early
enough, then it
can be cured.
MYTH 4:
Men can’t get
breast cancer.
Fact: Men also
have armpits,
nipples and
breast tissue, so
while it is rare, they
can also develop
breast cancer.
MYTH 5: Having
a healthy, active
lifestyle will
prevent me from
developing cancer.
Fact: There are
other contributing
factors that can
also increase your
risk, such as
a family history
of cancer.from Cape Town, never
thought she would be at
risk at such a young age
who lives in Cape Town ,
didn’t have a family history
of breast cancerPiliswa
Mazikwana,
31,m
i
‘ I w a s
d i a g n o s e d
w i t h b r e a s t
cancer at 22’
STUDENT AND ACTRESS NEONATAL ICU NURSE