Breast Cancer Awareness Month, held every October, aims to promote screening and reduce the risk of the disease, which affects 2.3 million women worldwide.

Known for its pink theme, the month features several campaigns and programmes supporting people diagnosed with breast cancer, educating communities about breast cancer risk factors and encouraging women to have regular screenings.

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Sheldene Masondo, from Rockville in Soweto, shared her journey as a breast cancer survivor.

She was diagnosed at the age of 37 after she and her daughter were cleaning the house, and her daughter accidentally bumped her head against her right breast, which immediately swelled up.

Feeling the need to visit a doctor in April 2016, she said she felt as if her world had shattered because her life was about to change forever.

Masondo told the Urban News that the scan revealed a lump, which led to a mammogram and a biopsy.

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The results confirmed her worst fear: She had Stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

TNBC is a cancer that does not have the three common receptors (estrogen, progesterone or HER2) that many treatments target, making it more aggressive and often requiring chemotherapy as the primary treatment.

“The journey was extremely challenging, physically, emotionally and spiritually. Chemotherapy and radiation left my body altered and exhausted, and I lost a breast.

“The emotional burden was heavier than the physical because of the fear of the unknown. I recall one morning, I broke down in front of my husband, with my children silently watching. Seeing the fear in their eyes forced me to find strength again,” she said.

She said there were many triumphs along the journey, one being that even after six rounds of chemotherapy did not yield the results they had hoped for, the love and support from her family helped her finally find healing.

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“My faith became my anchor, guiding me through the storm that seemed to never end. I also believed that cancer did not define me, it refined me, because a few months after treatment, I miraculously conceived and later gave birth to my baby boy, Philasande,” said the cancer survivor.

Masondo said that although waiting for treatment, logistically and emotionally, was a struggle, receiving timely and quality care was also a challenge, as were the side effects of treatment.

She urged women to listen to their bodies and go for regular check-ups. She also encouraged people to join and engage with support groups like Cancervive, which inspires hope and belief in overcoming cancer’s challenges and provides education on cancer through community outreaches.

Masondo is celebrating nine years in remission and continues to take care of herself by having regular screenings.