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Rejoice Makoni-Herald Correspondent

One wintry morning, while stretching to shake the lethargy of sleep, Charity Makawa (then 24 years old) accidentally discovered a lump in one of her breasts.

Her mind immediately tried to process what it could have been.

She had heard about breast cancer from articles she had read, listening to radio and reading information on the internet. 

The lump she found was enough to signal that something was wrong.

Being a young chartered accountant, she had dreams of pushing her career and living her life the best she could. 

Makawa rushed to see a doctor at a local hospital, and a scan was done. She was told there was nothing to be worried about.

“After I was told by the doctor that there was nothing to worry about, I went home, but at the back of my mind, I always worried about it. I would go to the hospital and ask if I could have another scan. The second scan was done, and again I was also told there was nothing to worry about,” she said.

Two years down the line, she began feeling pain when she was sleeping, and she told her boss about the lump, who advised her to see a doctor just in case it was breast cancer.

Breast cancer is a disease in which abnormal breast cells grow out of control and form tumours. 

If left unchecked, the tumours can spread throughout the body and become fatal. Breast cancer cells begin inside the milk ducts or the milk-producing lobules of the breast. 

In Zimbabwe, breast cancer accounts for 12,5 percent of all new annual cancer cases, making it the second most common cancer.

Makawa remembers so well that Monday morning when she received a call from her doctor wanting to come to her house so that she could tell her the results.

“I knew for a fact that it was bad news because if everything was good, there was no need for the doctor to come to my house. She came and broke the news, and I was told I had breast cancer. The news shattered me because I was now 27 years old and I had so many dreams in my life,” she added.

Having also broken the news to her relatives, Makawa’s mother came to see her inconsolable, and everyone else was also crying.

She had to be strong and console everyone, promising them that she would be fine.

“Imagine when you have just gotten a life-changing diagnosis and everyone is crying, feeling sorry for you, not knowing the impact that will have on your mental health,” said Makawa. 

“When the time comes to support a relative or friend who has been diagnosed with cancer or any other disease, one has to be strong and say positive things so that the patient will not feel like she has been given a death sentence.” 

After everyone went, she was left alone in her house, wondering what the diagnosis meant for her.

“I was pushing my career, I wanted to get married one day and have children. A lot was going through my mind, thinking I was going to die and being so anxious about what could happen to my life. I then heard that small voice telling me that I was going to make it, and it gave me hope and the willpower to fight breast cancer,” she said.

“I was a young woman, and I did not want to have my breast cut off. I went to the doctor, and a lumpectomy was done.”

A breast cancer diagnosis can lead to more severe problems. 

For some women, the news may lead to depression, which can make it more difficult for them to adjust, make the most of treatment, and take advantage of whatever sources of social support are available.

Some women become so disheartened by the ordeal of having cancer that they refuse to undergo surgery or simply stop going for radiation or chemotherapy appointments.

Such was not the case with Makawa, she had the willpower to overcome breast cancer because she knew she had much to accomplish in the future.

She is one of the strongest and luckiest women because, having removed the lump, she experienced a re-occurrence, which she said took a toll on her life, but she managed to beat it.

However, her problems were not yet over.

Soon after completing her breast cancer treatment, she was diagnosed with colon cancer.

“I asked God why all of this was happening to me. I said to myself, I have been strong all this while, and I will continue to be strong and fight on,” she said. “Luckily, I responded well to my treatment, and I am fully healed. The support I received from family and colleagues at work was immense. 

“There was a time when I was allowed to work from home, and I even worked from the hospital during or after my chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Working from home helped me a lot because I never got worried that I would lose my job.” 

While the cancer disease burden is high and the cost of treatment is catastrophic for most, people rarely think about the emotional effect of cancer.

Any cancer diagnosis can bring with it many emotional and mental challenges and experts contend that there is need to prepare a patient before breaking the news to them.

According to Psychologist Dr Kudakwashe Muchena, there should be pre-cancer screening services with a psychologist to prepare the patient for positive outcomes.

“The whole process should involve a psychologist so that the patient is prepared and counselled on what positive cancer results mean,” he said. “Unfortunately, most women go for screening without consulting a psychologist. The impact of receiving positive cancer results is so devastating, it can kill a patient mentally. 

“A patient can be devastated to the extent that she can have mental numbness, some would find no purpose in living and would want to kill themselves, some would have suicidal ideation; and some would suffer from depression. All these can be managed by involving a psychologist during pre-cancer screening sessions.”

An oncologist, Dr Anna Nyakabau, says breast cancer patients must be accompanied by relatives or friends when receiving results.

“There are many ways in which receiving results can be perceived. The reaction will be based on fears coming from experiences with relatives who may have suffered breast cancer before,” she said. “It can also be driven by how the news was relayed to the patient and the stage at which the cancer is at.

“Basically, health care workers are taught the art of delivering news to patients. When breaking breast cancer results, the patient must not be alone; there must be a close relative. In case the patient’s mind goes blank, her relative will help her by listening to what the doctor is saying.” 

Luckily for Makawa, support from her family and friends helped her conquer the mental issues that came with her illness. 

She is now cancer free and is working with various support groups in the country to help other cancer patients overcome the mental challenges they might encounter in their journey.