A true story showing the true face of Breast Cancer not something you want to know but something you should know, not all stories end happily but happiness in life is what you make it to be – even if it is momentarily. This special article is shared with you all by our very own Client Relations Manager, Zulaifa.
It was the year 2002. I received a frantic call from my eldest sister asking me to come to her house immediately. We were living close by and our houses were only five minutes drive away from each other. When I went there was something in the air that was not right. My parents had just returned after visiting my youngest sister who was living very far from Colombo. We have four sisters in the family. When I got there the second sister also had come. They were all crying. My eldest sister through tears said that my mother wanted us to take her to the cancer hospital. I felt my self freeze. That means she had cancer. I did not want to believe it. My mother never did any tests for cancer. We never knew anyone close who had cancer, but we knew that it was an ugly sickness.
We were frantic. She had been complaining that her right arm was aching. And she was not feeling well, that she was feeling weak. Every time we tried to take her to the hospital, she would give some excuse and stay back. We regret it now because none of the sisters were able to stay right behind and take her to the hospital. We all had kids and were living separate lives. We never in our wildest dreams imagined that it would be cancer. However, we assured her that it is nothing of that sort. Then the most upset thing happened. She showed a wound on her chest. It was as if the skin had burnt. She had concealed it because she had not wanted to trouble any of the daughters.
Both my elder sister’s had children. I had one son and also was pregnant with my second baby. It was late in the night. They wanted me to baby-sit the kids and they took her to a hospital in the city. As soon as the OPD doctor saw her, he had said that it was in the 4th stage, which means there’s nothing anyone could do. They guaranteed life of 6 months or less. We just did not want to accept that. We brought her home. We turned to God. We asked earnestly from Him to keep our mother longer, however we also did not want her to suffer. We studied about cancer from the internet, newspapers and books. We looked for people who had it or whose relatives or friends were infected. Their insight, there experiences, were of great help. A lot of them recommended a doctor in the cancer hospital who apparently had a lot of experience in the field. We channeled him. The doctor prescribed a series of treatment for her. Unlike in western countries the treatment was very expensive. All four sisters pooled in the money. My mother’s doctor also would give some of the expensive medicine from the government cancer hospital, for which my farther would go very early in the morning, stay in the queue to collect them. He would come in the afternoon exhausted.
We took turns to go to the hospital when it came to treating her. My farther would always accompany her. He was taking care of her like a father would take care of his daughter. Although my mother pretended to be annoyed, she really enjoyed the attention she was getting and would talk about it with us. We knew that chemo therapy would shed all her hair. We gave her courage. We cut her hair short. She would not let us bald her head. We bought her lovely scarves to cover her head. However, we assured that it was only temporary. All her strength would drain out after treatments. She used to be a very strong lady, ready to help anyone. She never spoke bad of any one, even if she were mistreated. We could hardly believe she was going through this pain.
We gave her a lot of red fruits or vegetables which we came to know that takes out bad toxins in the body. We gave her lot of red potatoes, carrots, pomegranates watermelon etc.
The radio therapy drained all her energy. Usually her pressure would rise very high whenever she steps in to the hospital, because she was very scared of the procedures. She wouldn’t allow us to move.
She really enjoyed the family gatherings; therefore we had them very often. She was from a very large family. She had two sisters, and seven brothers. In December 2007, she became weaker. We took her to the hospital. She was there for four days. The doctors requested us to take her home. We all knew that she would leave us soon.
Finally it came to a stage where she could not move about. She would always tell us to pray that she should be able to walk again. Although we knew she would not walk again. We assured her that it was temporary, and it is due to the medicine she takes. I was the only daughter who was working. I wanted my best to be with her. She was staying with my eldest sister. I came home early every day for three months from work, so that I could be with her. She enjoyed my visits. Although we did have an attendant she wanted the daughters to take care of her. We washed her, fed her, dressed her, and played her favorite music. During the last week of her life, it was such an effort for her to even speak or take a sip of water. However tight our schedules were we gave her the time she deserved. . During the last days we just could not bear the pain she was taking. We the four sisters and my farther would sit around her praying to God for hours and crying asking to release her from the pain she was going through. She did not recognize us on the last three days of her life. After six years of suffering on 02nd March, 2008, just after midnight she passed away. |
