ENGAGED and ready to walk down the aisle, the news that Lilian Walubita had been diagnosed with breast cancer could not easily sink in.
News that her breast was going to be removed made her develop goose pimples because she thought her fiancé Eric Walubita was going to leave her for some other woman.
“Being a woman, this news really devastated me because I thought my fiancé was going to leave me for another woman, but my God-given man never for a second haboured such intentions, it was all in my mind,” she recalls.
Lilian, 29 also recalls the number of nights she went to sleep with tears rolling down her cheeks with hope that maybe the results were altered and they were never hers.
She often faced the prospect of death but her then fiancé, Eric who is now her husband gave her hope to carry on and come to terms with reality.
All this started one morning when Lilian was getting dressed when she discovered lumps in her breast and not knowing what it was, she decided to ask her mother about it.
“Upon telling my mother, she advised me to seek medical attention at Konkola Mine Hospital (KMH) in Chililabomwe district,” she said.
Having being diagnosed after several biopsy tests at KMH, Lilian was referred to Lusaka’s Cancer Diseases Hospital (CDH) to commence treatment.
Determined and strong, her fiancé, family, friends and doctors encouraged her to soldier on because she was not the first one to have suffered from the disease and definitely will not be the last one.
The first treatment she underwent was a surgery, known as Lumpectomy. This surgical procedure is used to remove the cancerous tumour in the breast and some surrounding healthy tissue during the operation.
“I was ready to have my breast removed and the treatment was manageable, especially with the support I had from my fiancé, family and friends,” she recounted.
She then underwent chemotherapy treatment which involves the use of drugs to destroy cancer cells which work by stopping the cancer cells ability to grow and divide.
According to Lilian, chemotherapy was the toughest part of the treatment she had to go through.
She said “During that time, I lost most of my hair and my weight due to constant nausea. I would be given a dose every after three months and my fiancé would quickly take me back home in Chililabombwe. The reaction of the dose weakens one and needs constant care.”
With the loss of hair and weight, Lilian never gave up on her treatment but kept hoping that the whole episode would soon be over and she was going to get her old life back.
Lastly, she went through radiotherapy which is a treatment using radiation to destroy cancer cells. It is a common treatment for breast cancer after surgery.
With radiotherapy, Lilian recalls that it is a manageable treatment as well and she went through it with ease.
As the biblical passage puts it, joy comes in the morning; Lilian joyfully wedded two weeks later upon completing the cancer treatment.
Her biggest admiration in all this is her husband who helped in sharing the difficulties she encountered.
“Really, this man was sent from heaven by God to me and I cannot thank him enough for the love he showed me during that period,” she smiled with a flicker in her eyes.
The major lesson she learnt from all this is that women and girls must regularly check themselves to ascertain if they have lumps in their breasts that cause cancer.
“You need to have faith and belief that you will be able to recover from the disease. Yes doctors are there but they cannot do anything if your faith of getting better is weak,” she said.
Currently, Lilian mentors women and girls who are undergoing breast cancer treatment at the CDH.
Of course, she is human too and enjoys spending time with her husband during her spare time.
Apart from that, Lilian who is a staunch Jehovah Witness goes round evangelising the word of God and mentoring fellow women and girls.
Having participated in last month’s global breast cancer awareness, Zambian women have a duty to regularly have themselves checked for any possible cancer and sometimes self-examination is important.
