This month is breast cancer awareness month.
There are so many campaigns running urging women to look after their ‘lemons’.
A breakfast with breast cancer survivor Retha van Greunen turned the tables as she gave an open interview and shared her inner most secret emotions.
Retha was diagnosed with cancer on May 16, 2016.
This date is engraved in her mind as this was the start of an amazing journey of self-discovery.
Ten days later she had a double mastectomy.
“Nobody can prepare you for those words ‘You have breast cancer.’ It is cold, it is clinical and it is heartless,” Retha said.
But instead of becoming a cancer patient, she became a cancer warrior.
“My support network was incredibly strong. My four children and my husband became my make-up. I still had to pack lunch, tie a shoe, and comb someone’s hair. My family kept me strong and sane.”
For Retha life went on and she described the period from her diagnosis until her radiation stopped on February 13 as automated.
“Every day is set out. You do what you have to do, then go for radiation, then you feel tired, then you go for radiation, then you feel tired and it goes on and on and on. On Valentine’s Day I realised I did not have to go for radiation any longer. There was a sense of what now? What do I do? I am so use to the strict daily routine, now what?”
Retha said a woman going through breast cancer is stripped of everything, her womanhood taken away and that is a reality.
Yes, she did consider reconstruction, but before the procedure could be done, a small cancerous gland was found behind her breastbone.
Retha started a journal collected inspiring quotes that carried her through difficult times.
“There were times I wanted to stay in bed, but the journal kept me going and the idea of preparing woman before they go for mastectomies grew stronger by the day.”
Retha’s dream became a reality when a friend started small paintings of every quote that carried Retha.
This soon became a calendar, which she sold to all her friends.
The calendar was the start of bigger things as Retha started adding more and more ‘need-products’ in a beautiful box and named it Bettie Bandana.
Inside the box, which has a bit of everything a woman needs before she goes for a mastectomy, she leaves a little note, “Each day comes bearing its own gifts and challenges. Here’s something to give you a little push or a pull on the days that you need it. You are not alone! Bettie’s box is a treasure of hope and blessings from someone who understands your journey.”
