I agreed to write about my experience with cancer for Adhunika’s blog because I wanted to do the right thing. Then I had serious second thoughts. I feel like mine is not a story to tell. It was not much of a ‘battle’. My experience has been nowhere near as painful or as heart-wrenching as that of others.

I am having Chemotherapy again. It recurred from my right breast. It would be incorrect to call it ‘breast’, it would probably be more appropriate to call it chest as my right breast was mastectomized on 3 October, 2009.

I had my appointment with Dr. Hong at 4 .00 p.m Singapore time on 27th July, 2010 in Mount Elizabeth Hospital. I didn’t intend to go to Singapore leaving my daughters back in Bangladesh for a ‘simple’ reason but Saad, my husband, was very adamant to take me there. Saad had been very worried, tensed and nervous for last couple of days.

When the doctor uttered the word “Malignant” on a cool November morning, I felt like a huge load was suddenly dumped on me. My first reaction was “you got to be kidding me”. The dreaded word itself is quite loaded and then the way it was delivered, so abruptly. I was baffled and was trying to explain to her that she is looking at a healthy person who just completed her 2nd Marine Corp marathon only two or three weeks prior…

By SANTWANA SAHA, Former Head of the Department of History, Narsingdi Government College & A Breast Cancer Survivor in Bangladesh. She is also one of the speakers on Breast Cancer Awareness for the participants of Adhunika Bangladesh Society on October 2009 in Dhaka, Bangladesh.

WHAT IS CANCER?
Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by abnormal proliferation of cells, usually in a random disorderly manner. Through the uncontrolled growth of these malignant cells tumors are usually formed. Malignant cells tend to spread from their site of origin by traveling through the blood stream or lymphatic system.