Cape Town - A nurse found herself on the other side of the health spectrum when she was diagnosed with breast cancer and became the patient.
In January 2019, Groote Schuur Hospital nurse Raldia Jackson, 49, a mom of two from Mitchells Plain, worst fears came true when she was diagnosed with breast cancer.
She had felt a lump inside her breast in November 2018 and didn't think anything of it.
But after a biopsy revealed it was, in fact, cancer, doctors later determined it was stage three breast cancer.
In order to stop further spreading of the cancer, Jackson’s left breast was removed, and she had to undergo chemotherapy.
“When I was diagnosed, it felt like a death sentence because a few months prior, two of my colleagues had died of breast cancer, and I asked, was this the end for me? My family was called in and doctors had to explain to them my condition. I had stage three breast cancer.
“I remember going home that day and my daughter asking me, ‘mommy, are you going to die?’”
During treatment, Jackson experienced nausea, and her hair began to fall out.
Then, in September 2019, doctors gave her the good news that she was cancer-free and that she would need just a few additional treatment sessions.
“This was terrible, very traumatic and emotional,” she explained.
After my first chemotherapy session, I had nausea for two weeks. After my second session, my hair started falling off.
“You would look in the mirror and ask if this is you. No day looking in the mirror would ever be the same.”
“In September 2019, doctors informed me that I was free of my cancer. I would just need to get some more chemotherapy and radiation therapy to make sure the cancer would not come back again. That worked because up to now, I am free of the cancer.”
Jackson has been in nursing for 25 years and works as the Operational Manager in the day theatre in the outpatient department, where she sees 60 surgeries a week and witnesses several cases of lump removals from patients who have breast cancer.
Her journey has given her an inside view of a day in the life of a breast cancer patient.
“This part of my job really gives me so much joy,” she said.
“After having gone through breast cancer, I understand what those patients are going through. I have so much empathy for breast cancer patients.
“Emotionally, I can support them, and I have so much patience for them.”
Groote Schuur hospital spokesperson Alaric Jacobs said they wanted to create awareness about breast cancer because October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.
“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, an annual campaign to raise awareness about the impact of breast cancer, and to help uplift women in need as Nurse Raldia Jackson, a 49-year-old nurse at Groote Schuur Hospital, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in January 2019, is hoping to achieve.
“According to the Cancer Association of South Africa, approximately 19.4 million women aged 15 years and older live at-risk of being diagnosed with breast cancer, the cancer affecting women in South Africa the most.”
Jackson now encourages women to regularly carry out self-examination of their breasts, and if something is detected, to contact their doctor.
“If you do have breast cancer, be positive in your journey and have the necessary support system at home,” she said.
“Take it one day at a time and accept the journey.
“Breast cancer can be beaten.”
Weekend Argus