Breast cancer patient urges people not to ignore signs

And as we walk into the place she calls ‘home’, the reality of her situation becomes all too real.

Sharing a small room with eight other people, four bunk beds line three of the four walls, with just enough space to manoeuvre from one side of the room to another. With six rooms, all full to capacity, Jo says at least 40 people in the villa share one bathroom and a small kitchen. A stark change to her family home back in the Philippines.

“Back home, in the house I shared with my three children and my husband, we have our own private bedroom, and a living area. It is very different to this,” she says, motioning her arms to the space around her.

Keeping faith

Currently in her fourth and final phase of treatment, the Mercato Mall shop assistant says the last 12 months have not been an easy ride, but her friends, family and faith keeps her going.

Before opening up to me about her battle with cancer, Jo seems more focussed on making sure I’m comfortable, and as she pours me a glass of newly purchased pineapple juice – bought especially for my visit – she seems somewhat embarrassed of her surroundings.

“Are you sure you are okay here”, she keeps saying, while constantly apologising to me

Assuring her I am perfectly comfortable, she sits cross-legged in her bottom bunk and begins telling me her story.

Jo recalls the incident back in January 2013, which changed her life.

While waiting at a local bus station, Jo remembers one particular man nearby who was carrying a large rucksack.

“It seemed like every time I moved, he moved to the same place as me. He was always next to me,” she says.

All of a sudden, the man barged passed her, hitting her right breast with his heavy rucksack.

Whether on purpose or by accident, Jo still doesn’t know, but it is an incident that will stay with her forever.

“It felt like he had something very heavy, like metal, in the bag. In the days following the incident, I began experiencing some pain in my right breast.”

She says her busy lifestyle got in the way of her seeking immediate medical attention, but after several weeks of unbearable discomfort, she finally consulted a doctor.

The reality of it all

The check-up revealed an unusual mass in her right breast.

“The shadow measured 2.5cm when it was first discovered and when the biopsy result came back one week later, it had doubled in size,” she says.

Jo was then given two weeks to decide on her next steps - either undergo a mastectomy of her right breast, the complete removal of the breast, or begin treatment immediately to try and fight the disease.

She vividly remembers being told of the risks.

“Doctors told me there was a high possibility of the cancer spreading to my bones and lungs,” she says, and after seeking the opinion of four specialists in Dubai, they all came to the same conclusion.

“They said a mastectomy was my best chance at fighting the disease, so I went with it.”

Just two weeks after her original diagnosis, Jo underwent a mastectomy, and in the days following her surgery, she said she felt like she lost her identity as a woman.

“I don’t feel like that now, but it was very tough at first. I cried a lot,” she says, while showing me the keloid scarring on her chest which was left behind following surgery.

The mastectomy was just the beginning of a very turbulent journey she says.

At the beginning of May 2013, Jo began her first phase of chemotherapy. She underwent treatment every 21 days, for four months, suffering several unpleasant side effects in the process.

“I became very nauseous and dizzy, my nails and tongue become discoloured, and that’s when the hair loss began. I remember waking up one morning, and finding clumps of hair on my pillow.”

The hair continued falling out while showering that same morning, which is when Jo decided to call a friend and asked her to shave it off altogether. Her eyebrow, eyelash, arm and leg hair soon followed.

“It was tough, but I’m used to it now. I have little tricks to make it look like the hair is still there. Lots of eyeliner and eyebrow pencil, and I’ve even started styling my hair too,” she laughs.

Out lucked

As we sit in her room, an upbeat Jo points to a small mark on the bridge of her nose, and begins telling me how it came to be there.

“On January 6 this year, I was travelling on a bus back from Abu Dhabi after completing my 28th session of radiation. A car ‘apparently’ pulled out in front of the bus driver, causing him to slam on the brakes.”

Jo says her initial reaction was to protect her chest with her arms, and as she flung forward, her faced smashed into the seat in front of her.

“I began bleeding heavily and was taken to hospital immediately. Doctors told me my nose was broken, so I now have a case open with the RTA disputes section, which is another thing I am trying to fight,” she says.

Financial strains

After completing her first bout of chemotherapy at the end of August, Jo started Taxol treatment in September – a costly procedure at Dh2,500 per session - every week for three months.

“I’ve had some financial help from social workers, friends and family, but the costs just keeps piling up.”