JEDDAH: Sadness, fear and anxiety are usually part of the breast cancer process. Highlighting Breast Cancer Awareness Month, observed every October, a number of breast cancer survivors shared their experiences and said that the sooner the patient accepts this disease, it can lead to beneficial treatment.

Fatima S., 35, a teacher, was diagnosed with invasive lobular breast cancer. After undoing intensive treatment, she has been cancer free for three years. She shared her personal story of balancing parenthood, career and the required healing. “The first time when the doctor announced the cancer, I saw my life falling apart. I started to think about my children, my family. I didn’t know how I was going to manage the long journey of treatment.”

The time when she snapped out of her dark cloud and decided to fight against this disease was when her daughter asked her if she would die. “I told myself to stop feeling sorry for myself, not when I have kids. At first I thought, like anyone else, that if anyone has cancer, they will eventually die. But the time has changed; it’s so much different now than it was years ago,” she added.

Newly tailored treatments have been launched that improve the patient’s quality of life by reducing the amount of chemo and radiation, Fatimah said, adding that it is important for anyone who has been diagnosed with breast cancer to remain positive as it is the most important factor in fighting the disease.

Similarly, another woman, Haifa, 40, sharing her survival story said, “When I was informed about my cancer, I had no hope that I would survive since my cancer was detected at the last stage.”

The encouragement from her family and doctors turned her into 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,” she said, adding, “the fighting spirit not only helped me to become cancer free, but also helped me meet my inner strength.” She now has her own fashion boutique and also motivates other breast cancer patients on fighting the condition with a fighting spirit and strong will. Haifa became a hero instead of a victim in her journey.

Many other women speaking to Arab News said that the major drawback that prevails in Saudi Arabia is that many women even after spreading awareness do not have a full understanding of all aspects of the disease including risk factors, diagnosis, preventive measures and treatments.

A 37-year-old woman, who wishes to remain anonymous, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 30 and credits her faith in God as the cause of her continual strength. “Since I never had a history of breast cancer in my family, I was sure that the cyst I had was nothing to worry about. However, later when I did a mammogram, I was informed that the cyst was cancerous and I had to undergo treatment immediately,” she said.

After that, things started to move rapidly for her. The doctors informed her that the cancer had started to spread to the other side and that they had to remove both breasts in order to save her.

She advised women who are fighting for their lives to stay strong and be positive with their thoughts and have a good support system.

To mark Breast Cancer Awareness Month, several hospitals, public sector departments, and other organizations are observing activities to raise awareness to fight the disease. Zahra Breast Cancer Association recently held an awareness campaign at Red Sea Mall to educate women to go for regular screening and recognize the value of early detection of breast cancer that can lead to better outcomes in treatment for patients. A large number of people participated in this campaign.

Ghada Shehri, who attended the 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.”