Rays Of Hope, Happiness & Life

Rays of Hope, Happiness, and Life: Discover inspiring stories of courage and resilience from cancer patients who have turned their battles into beacons of hope for others.

10/10/2024

Blog 3

Cervical cancer story

Educated young women always inspire me.

Martha was a young lady who came to me from Nigeria with her Mom Kyato. Kyato had stage III cervical cancer.

Kyato could hardly speak or understand English while Martha was fluent with English. Communication with Martha became so much easier and there was no need of any interpreter as Martha knew English.

I could not fail to notice that Martha was smart, efficient, cautious and a quick decision maker. She quickly understood the treatment process, rented an apartment and started her kitchen to manage nutritious meals for her mother while she was going through cancer treatment.

During one of our conversations, Martha told me that she had graduation in Economics from Russia and was now working in a local bank in Nairobi. She told me that Kyato also was a farmer by profession.

Strong mothers raise strong and responsible children. Kyato did have challenges during her treatment but overcame all with her own resilience and support from her daughter.

My majority patients are Indian. One difference that I noted in Kyato’s attitude when she completed her treatment as compared to my own Indian patients is what I would like to share here.

Kyato was dancing with joy and was clicking pictures with all staff in the department when she completed her treatment. She was constantly thanking God for giving her strength to go through the entire treatment process. She was not worrying for her future but was visibly happy for her present.

We often forget to enjoy our present in our worry for future. For all those fighting this disease – patient as well as families- don’t forget to appreciate your present in your worry for future.

Lastly cervical cancer can now be prevented by vaccines. Don’t forget to vaccinate your girls against this disease. For those who have already crossed the timeline for vaccination, do your PAP smear tests annually after the age of 40 years for early detection of any problem. Let’s make world free of cervical cancer by following vaccination drive.