Cervical Cancer: A survivor�s tale
Florence Radull | Friday August 29, 2014 15:11
Odiseng and her fiancée had followed the correct procedures after they met by both testing for HIV and other Sexually Transmitted Infections (STI) before they started engaging in unprotected sex two years previously.
As far as she was concerned they were on the same page regarding sticking to only one partner but she would later find out that her fiancé did not share her idea of only one partner.
As the year 2003 began she booked an appointment with her doctor for the routine medical tests she took every year. The tests included doing her yearly Pap Smear. On receiving her results the worried look on her GP’s face alerted her to the fact that there might be something wrong.
“I’m sending you to see a gynaecologist as I found some anomalies in your Pap Smear. It’s nothing to worry about but you should get it looked at by a specialist,” her doctor said.
On consulting her gynaecologist Odiseng was given antibiotics and a couple of weeks later when tested again she was given the all clear.
About a year later Odiseng began to experience discomfort and sometimes even pain during intercourse. Instead of going to the doctor immediately she opted to have less sex, which of course caused friction between her and her partner. After six weeks of hoping that the pain would go away she started having abnormal vaginal bleeding and experienced a thick white discharge.
That is when she began to panic. She booked an immediate appointment to see her gynaecologist who was not happy with her having taken so long to seek help.
Several tests and an MRI later Odiseng was finally referred to an oncologist.
“When I first heard the word oncologist it was a big blow to me. This could only mean one thing. They had found traces of cancer,” she says.
The night before her appointment with the oncologist she did not sleep a wink. She kept on thinking about how long they would give her to live as she was aware that in most cases of cancer and especially in the case of Cervical Cancer, the survival statistics were not encouraging.
Dawn broke without her having slept at all. After an hour on her knees in prayer pleading with the Lord to see her through she left for the hospital.
At the hospital the oncologist explained that he would have to take some tissue from the cervix for a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis.
Odiseng also underwent a CT scan and a PET scan so the doctors could better identify what they were dealing with.
A couple of weeks later with the cancer confirmed Odiseng immediately began radiation treatments that lasted two weeks. After the treatments she was urged to undergo a hysterectomy (a surgical operation to remove all or part of the uterus).
Following the hysterectomy Odiseng recovered with the assistance of friends and family. At this stage her fiancé who had finally admitted that he had other sexual partners had abandoned her, saying he could not bear to watch her suffer from the disease.
“I later found out that it wasn’t too painful for him to watch me suffer but instead he had gone around telling people that he couldn’t waste his life on a woman who was dying,” she says.
She laughs when she remembers bumping into him years later and how her pronouncement that she was cancer-free stunned him.
“After five years they say you are cured of cancer. I’ve now been cancer-free for 11 years and I count myself lucky every day,” she said.
She does not waste her precious time thinking about what happened in the past but focuses on the future and the second life that God has accorded her.
“At every opportunity I love to share my cancer survival story and never miss the chance to encourage my fellow women to test regularly.
Imagine how I could have changed my life if I had sought treatment earlier or done my yearly Pap Smears when required. I urge all women out there to get themselves tested religiously every year especially if you are over the age of 30,” she said.