‘Life is good and I love being alive’

ABU DHABI - Captain Mariam Al Romaithi was a healthy woman who could boast of a successful career in the police force and a loving family. Life was great. But that was before she was diagnosed with breast cancer.

By Olivia Olarte

Published: Tue 28 Feb 2012, 9:35 PM

Last updated: Fri 3 Apr 2015, 4:44 PM

One day, during the Ramadan of 2005, Mariam was ‘shocked’to discover a lump on her right breast.

“It was about 5cm. At that time I didn’t know about breast cancer,” said the 45-year old Emirati. In the police clinic in Al Ain, where she works as an administrator, she sought advice from one of the doctors who advised her to go for a mammogram. At Tawam Hospital, she was informed that she had breast cancer and that it had already advanced to stage three.

“When I heard the word ‘cancer’, I know it was bad. I thought of my children and decided that if there is treatment, I would take it,” said the determined mother of four.

What followed was a chemotherapy session and a surgery to remove the tumour.

More sessions of chemotherapy ensued with 54 days of radiation and a full year of antibiotics.

“My family felt bad for me. My husband and my whole family supported me throughout my ordeal,” she said, teary-eyed.

She sourced her strength from prayer and her desire to be with her children. “I thought, if God wanted me to live, I would live,” she added. But her resolve nearly failed when her hair started to fall.

“I felt really bad about losing my hair. I lost my eyelashes, too. I’m a woman, I need my hair, I need my breast,” she said remembering those traumatic days. But Mariam was determined.

“I told myself I have to be alive for my children, for my family. I have to continue the treatment.” And in 2008, her courage paid off. She was declared free of cancer.

“I am so happy. I feel I died and resurrected. Life is good and I love being alive,” she smiled.

Mariam and her family immediately left for Europe on a much-needed holiday.

To ensure that she continues to be cancer-free, Mariam regularly goes for check ups. As part of her commitment to her ‘new life’, Mariam now works on a national committee to combat breast cancer. She talks to women, including her now 29-year-old daughter, about her experience and the importance of breast cancer screening.

“This is my way of showing my gratitude for being alive, my way of giving back,” she stated.

According to the Health Authority-Abu Dhabi (HAAD), early detection of breast cancer results in complete cure in 98 per cent of the cases and. The side effects of intensive treatment can also be avoided.

olivia@khaleejtimes.com