Thank you for visiting BreastSens. My guess is you are here because you or your loved one has been diagnosed with (breast) cancer. The words: “You have cancer” are words none of us wish to hear in our life time. Whether the words are communicated to us or to someone we love or care about. I know, the words were spoken to me. A breast cancer diagnosis is very daunting and devastating.
Let me introduce myself. My name is Molebatsi Pooe-Shongwe, person living with cancer - currently in remission- and founder of BreastSens. I was diagnosed on 25 April 2006 – (28 days after my 37th birthday) after I had had a lumpectomy to remove a “benign lump.” My world froze after my specialist surgeon informed me that “the harmless benign lump” – as I had been reassured by THREE doctors, was in fact malignant. I felt breathless, my stomach was in knots and I wanted to throw up. It felt like I had been punched in the gut. This, I imagine is how you feel at the moment. Petrified. Devastated. Overwhelmed. ALONE IN AN INSANE WORLD. I empathize.
I had a bilateral mastectomy on 18 May 2006 – followed by 6 sessions of chemotherapy. My nightmare did not end here. I was diagnosed with chemotherapy induced cardiomyopathy (congestive heart disease) a week after my last session of chemotherapy. Talk of a double whammy!!! I was scheduled to have a transplant this month (October 2007) but mercifully I am grateful to share that my heart muscle has “miraculously restored” itself. I am as healthy as a fiddle. There is hope and I am a true embodiment of that. Let my recovery be a light in your hour of darkness. BreastSens is here for you – please allow me to hold your hand as you walk this treacherous path. Reach deep within yourself and discover your will to live. Your inner strength.
I adopted the song “I will survive” as my rallying cry. What’s yours?
Wishing you strength in your journey to recovery.
May the universe treat you kindly…
‘Batsi
