It seems like yesterday, when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. I remember the day so vividly in my  mind. It all started on this particular Sunday when I noticed a thickened skin under my breast. The next day I visited our family doctor who immediately booked me for a mammogram. On the very same week I visited my surgeon to interpret my results. He informed me that they were suspecting cancer and that I had to have a biopsy to confirm the diagnosis. Results came back and the diagnosis was
confirmed and soon an oncologist was on board.

This was the start of the journey which has shown me abundance of love, care and support from my family and my friends. Firstly, there is the fear of having to confront the face of death as we have come to know CANCER as ‘igongqongqo’ eliginya  konke. I had come to realise that for you to survive the journey, there are basics that will help you sail through. The first night was spent agonising about what will happen next and will I cope with the dreaded CHEMO and what will it do to me. My fears were soon allayed as my family embraced the challenge. By that time I knew I was not alone and I knew I had to be strong and face the challenge. I knew that I had the courage and invited my Lord to be my guide and supporter through this journey. The day before my first chemo session, I invited my daughter and my niece to shave my hair off. This was to involve them in my journey and prepare them to be strong and to accept the diagnosis.

Chemo started with four sessions of the ‘red  devil’. This is the chemo that takes off the hair and turns your nails black. The worst was when it ate my blood  veins and they collapsed. As a result, I had to have a port inserted directly to my heart so as to continue with ‘chemo’. From thereon, I equipped myself with knowledge so as to understand cancer more and to prepare for the journey ahead. I understood  that your MIND has to stay focussed on fighting as you run a risk of having cancer taking over your life. I survived my first year whist doing all the necessary processes. i.e. chemotherapy, mastectomy then radiotherapy.

The worst nightmare came 18 months  after the first diagnosis, when I had an agonising headache. I contacted my surgeon again who recommended that I should report to St Doms emergency unit. I was already booked for CT scan for the following Monday as I had visited my oncologist in the same week for the slight headache I was experiencing. The CT scan confirmed that there was cancer activity in my brain and the oncologist confirmed the brain metastases. This time around I felt defeated but had to be strong to face the challenge. That was in December 2012 when I finished my treatment.

As if this was not enough, six months into my life, I started getting tired. After a day’s work, I would go back home to get a well deserved break to rest. I realised there was something going on with my back. As a  cancer patient you need to be weary whenever there is consistent pain in one place. I booked four sessions with a physiotherapist.  She told me that my back felt hard as a rock, she could not believe that I could still manage to sit up and work. She tried to release the tension but it would build up again within two days. At this moment I knew that this was referred pain from somewhere. I needed to find a solution for this pain. I requested my oncologist to look further. He requested further tests looking into the abdomen. He also requested a full body bone scan to assess the bones, to check the bone frame for cancer spreading to the bones to the bone frame. This is a scan that checks from the top to toe. There was no indication of a problem. Everything seemed well except for one big gall stone in the gall bladder. Luckily it had not threatened me yet.

After six sessions with no relief from the physio, I decided to see a chiropractor. I needed to get to the bottom of the problem and have it addressed. I developed a severe back pain that moved to my hip. Soon this pain moved down the femur and down to the foot. I did six sessions with the chiropractor and the pain was getting worse, I could not sleep at night and I had difficulty with walking. After 6 weeks with agonising pain, I visited a GP who then referred me to a neurosurgeon. The neurosurgeon identified the problem as a pinched sciatic nerve. I was booked for an MRI to my lower back to locate the problem. He was promising to do an operation that would release the nerve and all would be fine again. I was ecstatic that I would finally get relief from this agonising pain.

My worst nightmare was still to come. I noted that something was amiss when the radiologist had to repeat the scan with much focus to the lower back. I lay there pondering about the results. My worst fear was confirmed, they saw four new tumours submerged into my spine. It was confirmed that my back and leg problems were due to these tumours, specifically the one that was sitting on my sciatic nerve. Now, this meant the cancer had spread to the bones.

I had to start all over again with the chemotherapy process. This time I was given 10 doses of radiotherapy as well as 12 sessions of Chemotherapy with a much stronger dose of the chemo drug. This was a new journey. I knew there and then that if I am not prepared to fight, I would be giving in to this devil. Together  with my treatment partners we managed to conquer and here I am still moving on. I am looking forward to a Cancer-free life. By the grace of God, I believe I am healed, as I always say: ‘My GOD has never staged anyone’s life so I am not living a staged life. I am a SURVIVOR, I will fight ON….

Sipokazi sadly lost her fight on the 29th of May 2016 after the cancer metastasised to the brain, spine and the spinal cord.