Pamela, 66, is co-owner of Le Bistro at the Alliance Française in Lusaka. She was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer in 2015 and is coming to the end of her treatment at Lusaka’s Cancer Diseases Hospital. Breast cancer is the second most common form of women’s cancer in Zambia, accounting for 13% of all cases. In 2016, the Cancer Diseases Hospital treated almost 200 women for breast cancer.
As a breast cancer survivor, I hope my experience and story will encourage other African women to overcome their fears and anxieties about seeking early examination and treatment.
My story begins with the fact that I took pride in religiously doing my monthly breast checks and kept up with the latest publications on breast health. One of my best friends had passed away from an inflammatory form of breast cancer in 1999.
For at least 20 years prior to my initial cancer diagnosis I had experienced lumps of various sizes in both my breasts. All were checked and found to be non-cancerous. So, in 2015 when I found yet another lump in my breast, I assumed it too would be non-cancerous as the others had been.
I had a visit planned to see my daughter and her new born baby who lived abroad and I did not want to cancel it because of a lump that I assumed would be non-cancerous like my previous ones.
During the next six months, I developed a chronic cough, swelling and increase in the size of the lump. When I arrived back in Zambia, I immediately had the lump examined and biopsied by my doctor only to be told I had advanced stage cancer.
Because the lump was large and advanced, a mastectomy of the entire breast was required. I had my follow-up chemotherapy and radiation treatments at Lusaka's Cancer Diseases Hospital.
