My friend, Akoth, was diagnosed with breast cancer when she was 17; five months down the road of her young life, she got hit with ovarian cancer. She was about to write her senior secondary school exams when she found out but held on and fought the disease with all she had. She lives a normal life now, that of a young, beautiful, talented and inspiring woman that she truly is. And she shares her story as she continues on her journey to inspire, encourage, challenge, and give hope to those fighting cancer.
I cannot remember when I first heard about cancer but it was a word I didn't want to hear. I was scared of the name and got afraid of the idea more than the disease; I would do the breast massage for detecting breast cancer, begin to see things that were not there and would cut off my imagination with a mentally programmed "No! It is not my portion". "Cancer"was a word I didn't want to hear let alone be tutored on. The idea of the disease, the fear and prospects of having it killed my will to learn about the disease and in turn rendered me unable to properly identify signs of it, know preventive measures to take against it or ways by which victims may fight and overcome it. I am glad this conscious rejection of knowledge has not cost me. With people like Akoth coming out with their stories, however, it has become easier for me to mention "cancer" and be willing to know about it.
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