‘Our life doesn’t always make sense, and God doesn’t always give us the answers – but, it is during these times of total uncertainty that we must continue to fight the battle to survive.’
“I was diagnosed with breast cancer on Feb. 14, 2008. That very moment when my doctor broke the news, I felt my life stood still. I felt broken emotionally, mentally and physically. I felt angry and sorry for myself at the same time. I saw my daughter who was playing at the corner of the room looked straight at me terrified,” recalls Carol de Jesus, an overseas Filipino worker in the UAE.
De Jesus, who said she got the all-clear six years later in March 2014, shared that she never thought she’d have the big C.
“I lived a healthy lifestyle. In fact I was active in various sports and never thought of getting seriously sick. In December 2007, I felt a lump on my right breast but did not take any notice of it as I thought it was normal for women to find a lump that usually comes and go. However, in January 2008, I noticed I was losing a weight even though I was not excising or dieting. By February, I was vomiting and constantly had a migraine,” De Jesus said.
De Jesus, who was diagnosed with aggressive stage 1 further recalls those darkest moments of her life: “Every day was a painful experience for me. I knew that I had to be strong and keep fighting to survive for my family and myself, my daughter was only 7 years old at the time.”
Looking back, de Jesus has this advice for cancer patients: “Our life doesn’t always make sense, and God doesn’t always give us the answers – but, it is during these times of total uncertainty that we must continue to fight the battle to survive.”
