My cancer diagnosis is not a death sentence

 

It's been a while since my last real social interaction with a group of people and this weekend's social activities made me realise it may be a good idea to give everyone an update on my health.

Living a normal life

I am blessed not having experienced any chemo side-effects so far after four sessions. I shaved my hair by choice and am keeping it short, just in case it starts falling out. I am up and about and am not quite sure why people were so surprised to see me at work this weekend. My cancer diagnoses is not a death sentence and there is no reason for me to be bedridden.

My body is recovering from four surgeries since August 2019, all under general anesthetic, and the side-effects from anesthesia and all the antibiotics are leaving me slightly fatigued and with a little 'brain fog' at times. 

I have a healthy appetite, I sleep well, I go to gym, I play outside with my animals, I wash the car, I work in the garden... I’m pretty much living a normal life.

And I am still a freelancer working in the media and marketing industries. I write articles for magazines and newspapers. I do traditional and digital marketing strategies. I do social media campaigns from concept to execution. I do public relations and publicity. 

My cancer stage and type

A tumour measuring 3 cm has been removed from my right breast and was sent to a lab for microscopic analysis in August 2019. The results confirmed that the cells removed are characteristic of a lobular pleomorphic carcinoma which resulted in a diagnosis of stage 2 breast cancer. 

The cells removed are also positive for hormone receptors and the HER2 receptor. This means that my body provides 'food' to cancer cells in the form of hormones and the HER2-protein. My body was scanned for other occurrences of cancer and it is clean - no other tumours were found anywhere and my lymph is also clear. A bilateral mastectomy at the end of August 2019 has given me surgical clearance, meaning the cancer cells have all been removed from my breasts. 

Even though there are no cancer in my body, the type of cancer cells that were removed showed a very aggressive growth pattern and because I do not want the cancer to reoccur in a few months I opted for chemotherapy which started on 25 October 2019. This weekly 2-hour infusion of Paclitaxel over the next 18 weeks should prevent any cancer cells to start growing in other places in my body. I will also get treatment to obstruct the HER2-protein from growing in conjunction with chemo, and my hormones will be blocked after completion of my chemotherapy in April 2020 which will force my body into early menopause.

The cost of cancer treatment and its mental impact

Cancer treatment can become very expensive and the stress of waiting for the medical aid to approve treatments, having to pay for treatments and now having to claim it back from the medical aid, worrying about future treatments and payment thereof, and dealing with doctors who charge 300% of medical aid tariffs all has an impact on my mental state of mind. 

Because I lost a major freelance contract in August when the company learned about my cancer diagnoses I have not been as busy as I'm used to and it was difficult to keep busy in-between all the surgeries and the recovery periods associated with each visit to the operating theater. On average each surgery has a 2-week recovery period and I've had four surgeries in the last 15 weeks. That is a total of eight weeks I was not able to execute my work in a way I would usually be able to do and equates to the loss of two full months’ income. This also has an impact on my state of mind. 

You can help by donating towards the crowdfunding campaign that my husband started.

https://www.backabuddy.co.za/marisa-louw

The reality of a cancer diagnoses

I am fortunate that my cancer was diagnosed very early. But I am also realistic that cancer is a genetic mutation of cells that can happen anytime and that it can reoccur regardless of the aggressive treatment regime I am on. If, in 10 years’ from now, my body is still clear of any cancer cells I will be classified as a breast cancer survivor. 

Until such time I will remain a #cancerwarrior and I pray that my body and mind will remain strong to fight every battle in this war against cancer. I also hope that I will live by example for others to be inspired and given hope to fight their own battles, whether it is a battle of health or a battle of relationship or a battle of unemployment.