Thesun 2009-02-05 Page13 Breast Cancer Rising Fear Factor Pt 2

theSun

œ 13

| THURSDAY FEBRUARY 5 2009

INTERVIEWS VIEWS

gloom. That is why I am a socialist,” she says without batting an eyelid. Breast cancer education is imperative and in a country with a multi-faceted fabric of cultures and social mores, the resource centre at UMMC aims to educate women on breast health, self-examination and early detection and treatment. Yip has seen cases in late stages as there are those who prefer to seek alternative therapies before seeing a doctor – and she has also seen patients with burn marks on their breasts, caused by lighted joss-sticks administered by faith healers. “Patients seek the help of bomohs, mediums or consume herbal concoctions and even wear magnetic bracelets hoping the tumours will shrink. The latest craze is mangosteen juice,” she added. “Some patients are afraid of doctors but not nurses,” chips in Umi Kalthsum. “Patients on follow-up sometimes disappear and the resource centre which keeps a registry tries to locate them.” Umi Kalthsum says some patients are even afraid of biopsy needles, thinking that, when

the procedure is performed, the cancer will spread to other parts of the body. On the sudden surge of breast cancer worldwide, Yip said, women may be living long enough to reach the age at which they are more susceptible to the disease. “Personal choices women make in life, like marrying late, having fewer children, that too relatively later in life, and breast feeding only for a few months, leaves them vulnerable to breast cancer,” Yip added. Decades ago, not many wanted to even talk about it. Breast cancer strikes the most profound of a woman’s asset – where the motherly and the erotic are embedded. The symposium at San Antonio not only opened a floodgate for oncologists to congregate and exchange ideas but also elects a new way forward – highlighting breast cancer science – where scientists issue information on the latest research and drugs in the pipeline, that may beat breast cancer mortalities. With new drugs and new pathways to stop its metastasis (spread), hope for the “new woman” is not far from being a tangible reality.

Brave Belinda battles the blight by Joseph Masilamany “HERO” is usually tagged to characters in films, sports celebrities and even winners of TV reality shows – or to those who win an accolade after political or social lobbying. Real heroism is far tougher to identify but it is all around us, though it only gets token space in the news. Each time I called stage-four breast cancer patient, Belinda Bateman, 40, for an interview appointment, the ringtone in her handset comes alive with the upbeat song Four minutes to save the world by Madonna and Justin Timberlake. Belinda’s ringtone, somewhat resonates with what Ralph Waldo Emerson (American essayist, philosopher-poet) once said of courage: “A hero is no braver than an ordinary man, but is braver five minutes longer.” When faced with adversity – folk who cling to “optimism” or whose “resilience” hangs high as the party balloon or when their “placidity” renders magic flavour to life are those who stand as signposts with an immutable effect on people around them. Belinda was in the Philippines when she found herself in a malevolent whirl. While being treated for injuries suffered in a fall, the swelling on her left breast, initially thought to be trauma caused by the fall, proved otherwise. Suspicious doctors performed a biopsy and found a seven centimetre long tumour. It was malignant and at stage three. Shock does not come easily to Belinda, who has lived life like the metaphoric bird which had had its “feathers plucked out one by one”. The mastectomy on her left breast was surgery No 23! Since birth, Belinda had undergone 22 surgeries to help her cope with a rare debilitating condition known as congenital multiplex arthro-gryposis. Life dealt another blow when the single mum’s only daughter, Rennay, 5, was diagnosed with the same condition. While recuperating from her mastectomy, Belinda’s employer walked in, not with a

bouquet of flowers, but a letter which he “cajoled” her to sign. The letter read, as she was a liability to the company, she would be “rewarded” with a return ticket home, if she resigned voluntarily. “I signed the letter,” she told theSun, without a tinge of bitterness against anyone or at life itself. Back home she continued treatment at the UMMC and is now under palliative care – the cancer having spread to her lungs. Belinda discontinued the cycles of chemotherapy midway, preferring the quality of life to the ravages of the treatment itself. “My daughter gets traumatised to see me in the condition and I want to spend more time with her,” she said. Lapsing into sentimentality or being sopped in the “why me?” cesspool where time rusts and life stagnates is not the way for the questing Belinda. As tumour cells course through her bloodstream, the pain-beleaguered Belinda, manages to ease the distress with a strong concoction of liquid morphine – specially prepared for her. The zest to stay melded in the mainstream has also pushed her to prepare the family lunch one day. She accomplished the chore, while retreating to her room in regular intervals, to breathe wisps of oxygen from her portable kit. “We will all die one day. For some it comes earlier, for others it takes a longer time. We just have to make the best of the time we have,” said Belinda, who has also spoken at breast cancer forums. Belinda also looks forward to her weekly visits to the hospice where she brings cheer to others and is often asked the “secret” behind her placid composure. Sometimes succour comes to the distressed from the most unusual place or from the most unexpected person – and in Belinda many see quintals of the heroic. Her life-script issues a strong lesson for each one of us. That life is a school with no syllabus, where question papers are not set and there are no model answers to rely on. Oh how hallowed is this tutorial from Belinda – to be “braver five minutes longer” … and to lend just “four minutes to save the world”.

Belinda (centre) shares a light moment with her mother Marie and niece Keeshia.