CHRISTINA KWIPNCHEP, Cameroon shared by NDZI

Living in a different town, many kilometres away from my parents, on this faithful day i received a phone call from them. My mum said she was referred by some health care workers who came to her community for breast and cervical cancer screening. She was asked to go to the Hospital for a breast mass biopsy. She had a painless left breast mass, retracted nipple and orange skin appearance of the breast. She was later diagnosed of breast cancer after an excision biopsy. I felt that i failed in my responsibility as her daughter who could have encouraged her to always do self breast exam since i have a knowledge on that.

Since the diagnosis was first given to us caregivers, declaring the result to my mum was the biggest challenge. Coming up with the finances for management was another challenge that gave me sleepless nights since cancer management in my country is expensive. Knowing the complexity of the healthcare system in my country, and the busy nature of most family members, some family members had to forgo some days/weeks of work to take care of mum in the hospital. Watching my strong and courageous mum go through the chemotherapy side effects; the pain, hair loss, vomiting etc was so devastating. She could barely feed well due the vomiting .

My faith was the force behind the journey, my mum was stronger than i could imagine and the healthcare staff equally gave words of comfort and provided timely intervention which was so encouraging to me. The fact that my mum was not stigmatised was equally a driving force

Each clarification we needed was heard and responded to. The treatment went on well, at the time she was receiving her radiotherapy, the Government had subsidised the cost of treatment. This was so helpful to the family since we are all average earners in the family. It could have been better if all the treatments (chemotherapy, mastectomy and radiotherapy) took place in one health facility, but unfortunately we had to move to a different town for radiotherapy. The scarcity of oncology centres in my Country is also a contributing factor to most defaulters. Few defaulters will be recorded if there are more oncology centres in the country and low/subsidised treatment cost.

I know the myth about the word called cancer is a death warrant in most communities but as a caregiver to a cancer patient, know that you have a big role to play in the treatment of cancer. This can demystify the myth about cancer. Your patient depends on you and the healthcare personnel at this time. A patient with a good caregiver can be compared to a house with a strong pillar. No matter what medication is given in the hospital, if the patient is not supported by a good caregiver, the patient's condition may deteriorate slowly because a good caregiver builds the psychology and mentality of the patient. A good caregiver gives more hope to the patient. Be that caregiver that even at the point of death, the patient will still find a reason to live. Don't be that caregiver who rather sends the patient to an early grave.