Fighting Cancer in Africa - Voices of doctors and patients (IAEA) April 2006
It's my story: The survivor - life after cancer
Harriet Namudde: The cancer survivor
Summary:
After being diagnosed with breast cancer, Harriet Namudde lost all hope and thought of death. The operation to remove her breast and the radiation treatment she received afterwards to kill the remaining cancer cells frightened her and was very stressful. Harriet has now recovered and returned to work as a nurse at Mulago Hospital, where she uses her experience to offer hope to other cancer sufferers.
Suggested introduction:
Being told that you have cancer can be terrible news. When Harriet Namudde, a nurse, was told that she had cancer of the breast she assumed there was no hope of recovery. But now, three years later, she is healthy and back at work. It took an operation to remove her breast followed by radiation therapy to beat the cancer. However she has never forgotten how frightened she was and as a founder member of the Uganda Women's Cancer Support Organisation, she now meets and advises other cancer patients. This is Harriet's story.
Tape in:
My name is Namudde Harriet...
Tape out:
...There is hope to live.
Closing Announcement:
A media toolkit for reporting on cancer and its treatment. This pack has been produced for the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Transcript
Namudde
My name is Namudde Harriet, I am a Ugandan, I am a nurse. I am aged 38 years. I am alive today because of radiotherapy. When people hear about cancer, they associate it with death. For example, in my family, my mother died of cancer of the cervix, my father died of cancer of the prostate. So when I was told that I have cancer of the breast the next thing I thought of was death. I did not know I would live even for a month. I even refused the operation saying, No. Operation for what? After all I am going to die. Why should I waste my time that I am going for an operation?
It took me 6 months to accept the operation because I knew I was dying anytime. The doctors explained to me and told me that after mastectomy, whereby the breast was removed, they suspect there could be some other cancer cells still around the site. So they explained to me that radiotherapy is going to kill the cancer cells which could be still remaining in the area. And going for radiotherapy, it was so stressing, especially when you are put inside there, you are left there alone, you get scared. You fear over what is happening, is this machine going to fall on me, is this machine going to burn me? It was so stressing. So when I went home I thought about it, I saw some patients who had gone through radiotherapy. Some of them are my colleagues working here in Mulago Hospital. So I talked to them and I think I just accepted and got treatment all through.
Now here in Mulago most of the staff who work here in the radiotherapy, they know me, so in most cases they send to me patients, especially those ones with the breast cancer. So I tell them my experience. When a patient comes and tells me what he is feeling about radiotherapy, I really understand exactly what he is talking about.
I feel I have been given back my life. I do my work well, I eat well, I stay well. I can say I am fine.
Now, like, about cancer, I feel it is just like any other disease. In my family I have brothers who have diabetes, who have HIV and sisters who have hypertension. I have cancer. But it was discovered, the part was cut off, I was given radiotherapy and other treatment and I am fine. When you are diagnosed with cancer you shouldn't loose hope. There is hope after being diagnosed that you have cancer. There is hope to live. End of track
