My journey of faith and victory.
My name is ROSE WAMBUI MURIITHI . I am a nurse by profession. I was diagnosed with breast cancer stage 1 grade 2 in January 2016.
I felt a lump on my left breast and that day still lingers in my mind as if it was yesterday. Being a nurse, I was shocked knowing that I might be dealing with cancer. I visited a gynecologist in Agakhan Hospital who took me through the rigorous investigations. The results were ready on 25th January and I got a rude shock with the big “ C “ diagnosis.
To avoid panic in the family, I had only informed my sister in law what I was going through. I therefore texted her with the bad news on this date. I don’t know how she managed this but she turned up at my doorstep with half of my family members. They were all in panic mode but I tried to remain strong for them.
I visited a breast surgeon Prof. Wasike and we planned for surgery to be carried out in two days. The surgery was successful and I thank God the cancer had not spread to any other part of the body. It was still in the early stage so it was not necessary to remove the breast but only the lump. After recovery from the surgery, I did 4 sessions of chemotherapy. This took away my hair, darkened my nails, the taste buds went to sleep, and it was at this point that I realized I was dealing with cancer. After that I did 20 sessions of radiotherapy and this left me very exhausted.
Because the cancer that I had is estrogen positive, I have to take Tamoxifen, an oral pill, every day for the next 5 years. It has been an emotional roller coaster but one thing that has taken me this far is the love and care that my family has given me all the way. I refer to them as CHIEFS KDF. For sure It would have been difficult to make it without them. Someone always accompanies me for doctors’ appointments and they are always available when I need anything. I am a Christian and my faith in God has given me extraordinary courage and hope. My friends have prayed for me and I have held on to those prayers during my times of need. Together, we have conquered this great giant.
My journey has taught me to be more prayerful, have faith and to spend more time with those that matter in my life. I now take one day at a time. I also discovered a talent that I never knew I had. I needed a light physical activity as I was going through treatment and someone advised me to take up crocheting. This has become a part of my life and I make hats for the children in Kenyatta hospital cancer ward. I also learned the importance of encouraging those who have been diagnosed with cancer and I take the first opportunity to visit them. I also do talks to encourage people to go for screening because CANCER IS NOT A DEATH SENTENCE.THERE IS HOPE.
Lastly the Government should train more oncologists and make the cancer screening available in the villages and also make the treatment affordable. My humble request to my fellow Kenyans is that they should REGISTER WITH N.H.I.F. “ EARLY DIAGNOSIS EQUALS BETTER PROGNOSIS.”