‘I’ll never be the same’

Countries across the world recognise Breast Cancer Awareness Month every October. The initiative aims to create awareness and promote early detection and treatment. To commemorate the month and help raise awareness, the Northglen News’s Danica Hansen chats to three women who have been effected by breast cancer. Each week we will share one woman’s story.

PHOENIX resident Ronicka Sirputh was diagnosed with stage 2 triple negative cancer at the age of 35 in 2017.

“It’s the most aggressive type of cancer. The mortality rate is very high. Doctors did various tests and they all came back negative so they didn’t know what the cause of my cancer was. Both the mammogram and ultra sound were inconclusive. I then had a biopsy and they found cancerous indicators. The tumour markers were high,” said Sirputh, who is a Pink Phoenix Cancer Foundation ambassador.

Surviving the ordeal has forever changed Sirputh who says she will never be the same again.

“Even though your hair grows back, you are not the same person you used to be. Two years down the line and my hair is just touching my shoulders. I’m not the same person I was before chemo. I feel like I’ve aged a lot. Even though it’s been years since chemo I still feel the effects. It slows you down and you are a lot more prone to illness and fatigue. It’s changed my life,” said Sirputh.

Also read: ‘I wish I had a check up sooner’

She had a tumour in one of her breasts that was over two cm in diameter.

“I discovered the lump in November, 2016 and thought it was nothing,” said Sirputh.

While having an MRI scan to address a persistent back ache, Sirputh asked her doctor to check the lump.

“I went for an MRI in the first week of January 2017. I had an old back injury and was having constant back pain. Had I not been in for my back I might not have known I had breast cancer,” she said.

Sirputh said she had no other symptoms, only the lump in her breast. Early detection was key to treating triple negative cancer and doctors quickly scheduled a surgery at eThekwini Hospital.

“I found out on the Tuesday and the following Monday I had a lumpectomy. They removed the tumour only. Three days later I developed a severe infection and developed pain at the site of the operation. I had developed an abscess. It burst and got infected. My breast increased by three times the times and the abscess had to be removed,” she said.

During her initial surgery, Sirputh had eight lymph nodes removed.

Three weeks after her surgery, she endured six months of chemo therapy followed by a bout of aggressive radiation.

“I lost my hair. Chemo is very harsh on the body. From March to August I had chemo and from September to mid October I had Radiation. So from my diagnosis in January that year, my journey only ended in October- almost a year of treatment,” she said.

Radiation involves a 10 to 15 minutes procedure whereby the skin is burnt with a machine that targets the area.

“When I had radiation, I had to wait for the whole process for the skin to peel off. It wasn’t easy, but it was definitely easier than chemo. I have permanent small marks where the doctors tattooed four little dots on my skin to mark where the machine needed to target my skin. The whole area around those marks was completely black during treatment. For the entire 30 days I couldn’t put any water on that area until it healed completely. It was difficult to bathe,” she said.
Also read: ‘It was fight or flight, and I chose fight.’

The cancer survivor now goes for regular testing every three months.

“I have changed my lifestyle. Cancer teaches you not to take anything in life for granted and to know there is a bigger purpose,” she said.

Sirputh encouraged those suffering with cancer to stay positive.

“I never cried even when the doctor do told me I had cancer. I didn’t take it badly. It just surprised me. I never felt bad. I never felt like I was going die. I had a tremendous amount of support throughout the journey. Don’t let it get you down as women we are strong. We must fight with all we have. If we set our minds to something we can achieve it,” she said.

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