By Benda N. Kithaka

 

“My husband told me I had a lump…” she told all of us, after four rough days up the Mountain.

 

Ok, let me back up a little. In September 2020; fifteen beautiful souls went up Mount Kenya. Yes, a very eclectic team of 11 Cancer Survivors, three volunteer caregivers, and I; Chief Caregiver and passionate Patients Advocate. That’s not all, we also had a professional all-male-crew of 30 persons from Arch Treks Safaris, comprising of Coaches, Guides, Porters, Cooks, First Aiders and Rescue Team. Suffice it to say, we were prepared for any eventuality, at least enough to keep our sanity.

 

We went up that mountain, having prepared for over 8 months. I had my trepidations, a bit of fear, and most likely some of us were also deeply curious.

 

Why, you ask? Well, because we had heard all manners of horror stories, about what goes on up that mountain; how taxing it is, how cold it can get; my best (worst?) horror story was, “be prepared, check out their mental health, some of them could end up losing their mind up that mountain”. So, I was looking out all the time, checking my team for tell-tale signs; wondering who would be the first to lose it.

 

Oh, sometimes I would talk to myself – “you can do this Benda, just one more step, keep going Hun, you’ve got this, you are made for ...” And then Boom! I would wonder, have I lost my marbles, is this what he meant about mental health, am I losing my mind, “ahaaaa, you are the first to lose it…” “Stop it already” me shutting up the voices in my head.

 

 

Anyway, I digress. Yes, we all came down, safe and sane. And this was our good bye moment. We were doing our round, offering our thank you’s to the 30-plus crew, and then she blurted it out …

 

“My husband told me I had a lump… [long pause as if to collect her thoughts] … You should go get checked- he told me, as he left for the day…”

 

Powerful statement from a breast cancer Survivor who participated in the KILELE Challenge. All of us gathered around wanted to know more about that conversation. Don’t we all want to know what goes on in other people’s lives? At least I know am curious like that J.

 

But, are you curious enough to know what is going on in yours?

 

This being a continuation of our articles on cancer awareness, I just thought that we could continue where we left off. And maybe I can impart some knowledge of signs and symptoms about cancer?

 

If you recall, we mentioned that many cancers can be prevented through lifestyles changes. Some though, develop in the body over a long period of time, and one only gets to know when the cancer is causing pain, discomfort or has obvious effects on quality of life. But, you know what, there are ways to catch some of the cancers early, and prevent a lot of agony that comes with a late cancer diagnosis. That is why we should be sensitive to cancer signs and symptoms.

 

Know the signs to beat cancer:

Some common signs and symptoms for many cancers include a lump or swelling, abnormal bleeding, prolonged coughing, unexplained weight loss, frequent bloating and changes in bowel movements. While these symptoms may indicate cancer, they could also be causes for other diseases.

 

Way before we go for testing, awareness of what is normal in your body is your first mechanism in beating cancer; because, if one notices any of the above common signs and symptoms, and takes action early, then we could easily have it dealt with early, and stop majority of the invasive cancers from developing through medical interventions. In essence, your health is in your hands.

 

Depending on how well you know yourself, you can prevent advancement of cancer in your body. The benefits of early detection are numerous, cost of treatment is reduced, chances of recovery are improved, and overall wellbeing is ascertained.

 

Now that you know this, let’s take a pause here, and go talk about these signs and symptoms at community level, to ease the pain caused by late diagnosis. You can also invite me to speak at your community.

 

In our next column, we will explore what happens at screening, treatment, and palliative care. We will also look at existing therapies, technologies and modern day best practice in treating cancer.

 

Ms. Benda N. Kithaka is a Health Advocate based in Kenya.

 

Got questions? Reach me on  benda.kithaka1@gmail.com

 

Ms. Benda N. Kithaka is a Health Advocate based in Kenya.