VIDEO: I Thought I Would Die When I Was Diagnosed With Stage 2 Cancer – Survivor
Imaobong Andrew-Essien, a cancer survivor and founder of the Only Believe Care Foundation, discussed her four-year battle with breast cancer and how her faith in God, love from her husband, her loved ones, and her environment, combined to help her triumph.
Cancer is beyond just a medical diagnosis, it’s a deeply personal matter. Behind every diagnosis lies a unique human being, there’s a unique story of pain, grief, and the victory we get from time to time. Please explain your cancer journey as a survivor.
In 2023, I was going about my normal business, I’m a very active woman. But in 2013, I was struck by a disease called cancer. Precisely, breast cancer. While preparing for my probational exams, I registered for ICAN exams, so I was preparing for that, and suddenly… Normally, I used to lump my armpit and I’d go to a nearby chemist and they’d bring out the pus and they’d give me Ampiclox which I’d take and after a while, it would appear again. until a nurse told me to refrain from returning it because it’s too frequently.
My husband and I showed a lump to me while we were taking a cool bath, and he immediately asked me to go to the hospital to check. The doctor told me that I would not be returning home because it was a serious situation, so they performed a lumpectomy, a surgery, and a lump removal to go and test it. I was diagnosed with breast cancer a month later, and that was the start of the ordeal. It wasn’t an easy journey for me. The doctor advised me to take a quick step in the right direction so that I could see where I was right away. After two years, I would be exactly where I should be.
I was crying, my husband was crying. We had to take action right away to make sure we followed all the medical advice that was given to us. I was then directed to the National Hospital and the Teaching Hospital at the University of Enugu. I had to undergo surgery, I did chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Particularly during the chemotherapy period, it wasn’t an easy journey for me.
This cancer had to do with the division of the cells, the chemotherapy period was a trying period for me because I had hair loss, brittle bones, loss of blood, I was always vomiting, diarrhea, and loss of strength amongst others.
What was your doctor’s prediction for this breast cancer? What did you think of it?
The mind is the seat of recovery. It wasn’t easy for me to accept that I had cancer because I anticipated passing away in the next few years after the doctor confirmed that. My husband is the person behind my steady mind. He keeps telling me that whenever my faith threatens to fail, he will encourage me to do so, and he will use the scripture to strengthen my faith. He would encourage me by singing along to songs from different scriptures.
He (my husband) would encourage me whenever my faith threatened to fail me, and the environment in which I grew as a resulted in my recovery.
– Imaobong Andrew-Essien, Cancer Survivor#CTVMorningBrief… pic. twitter.com/oLG5kTSBVa
Everyone around me tended to care about me even when I wasn’t looking beautiful, to make me smile, and my children, who were also supportive, kept telling me that I would make it. They also tended to believe that I was beautiful even when I wasn’t looking pretty. I was able to change my mind in a positive way so that I could recover from the illness because of the encouragement I received from my immediate family.
What stage of cancer was your cancer diagnosed with?
Stage 2 was mine. The thing has begun to metastaticize, spread, and enter the lymph nodes. Therefore, I had to act quickly to make sure the cell was being controlled.
What was the duration of the treatment?
I was diagnosed in August 2013, exactly. From August to December 2013, we were looking for ways, where to go, what to do. Then, I started the treatment in 2014. The surgery took one month. I had to recover first before I could begin the chemotherapy, so the recovery period was lengthy. I received eight sessions of chemotherapy that lasted three weeks, 21 days, over a period of eighteen sessions. The side effects (diarrhea, vomiting, etc) of the chemotherapy injection will start coming out the first week. I spent the second week recovering from the side effects, and then I returned to the hospital the third week. It was an eight-month session that continued to be held regularly.
Because I had lost my memory in 2015, I began to gradually regain my composure. I wasn’t remembering things anymore, I started recovering gradually, building the blood system, and blood cells, I think it took about three years for me to recover. Thereafter, I started going for a three-month test and check-up. Then I started going for a 6-month checkup, after I was certified okay for 6 months, I started going for one year, presently, I am on a one-year annual test. Approximately four years were required for the entire treatment.
What one thing will you say to a cancer patient?
I’ll show the cancer patients the way their lives are in their hands. They own their life… Your healing is in your hands. Take a bold step. Nobody can say “sorry o’,” but don’t make a person’s face up to you. The majority of the work is done there. Don’t sit down, fold your hands, and look for pity but rather, take it as business that the healing depends on you and not on anybody. Take it by faith, pray always, and know that in as much as we are doing the conventional treatment, it is only God that can heal cancer.
She also discussed how life is after passing away from cancer.
Watch the full chat below:
Source: Channels TV
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