Yolandie talks about her cancer journey

Today there are no more signs of cancer in her body, but the road to recovery was a hard one for her as her husband fell sick and died while she was busy with her chemotherapy treatment.

Yolandie, who is also a mother of three and grandmother of three, had to focus on herself getting better, but also had to deal with the loss of her husband and being retrenched from work all at once.

A leap of faith

She went in for a mammogram and a biopsy at the Netcare Union Hospital after she felt a lump under her breast in October 2017.

“I had to wait to go for a mammogram as my medical aid did not want to pay for the mammogram. They only pay for one every two years. I had no symptoms. I just felt quite a large lump on my right side by chance and only if I lifted my arm did I notice a few small dimples in my areola area,” she said.

Yolandie was shocked when she heard her diagnosis.

“Deep down I thought I had breast cancer as it felt as though there were signs everywhere. Every book or magazine I opened had articles on cancer and every time I switched on the TV it has something about cancer. I think God prepared me for this.”

Her oncologist told her she has a very aggressive cancer and that surgery was not an option.

“I had two tumours in my breast, one was 5cm in diameter and the other one was 2.7cm in diameter right behind my nipple area which I did not even feel.”

After seeing her oncologist she went home and prayed to ask God to guide her through this as she knows she won’t be able to do it alone.

Road to recovery

Before she could start her treatment doctors had to remove two lymph nodes under her arm. Three weeks later she started with the ‘red devil’ chemotherapy treatment.

Yolandie lost all her hair within two weeks of the first part of chemotherapy. After finishing the red devil course she went for 12 more chemotherapy sessions, once a week for 12 weeks.

She then had breast surgery at the end of August in 2018.

“I had a mastectomy on my right breast and they used fat from my tummy to build it up.” In January of 2019, she started with radiation of which she had 25 sessions.  “I then had 19 Herceptin injections and finished it in 2019 as I have a gene that makes cancer. The injections were the easiest part of my treatment.”

Side effects

A challenge for her was the side effects of the chemotherapy. As the weeks went by it only got worse for her.

“First I lost all my hair and then with all the steroids and cortisone with each treatment, I gained an astronomical amount of weight.

“I had mouth sores and a sore throat, permanently. I had nose bleeds a lot. I always felt like I had the flu. I also lost all my energy and towards the end, it was so bad that I literally couldn’t take a bath without being out of breath.

“My nails all lifted and my one toenail fell off. My skin was very dry and itchy and I had massive headaches. My hands came out in terrible blisters with the second last chemotherapy and it was horrible as I had to walk around with bandages on my hands,” Yolandie explained.

Yolandie’s mother accompanied her to the hospital every week to undergo chemotherapy.

“I did not really do anything to distract myself while I was going through treatments, but I made a lot of friends. My mother is a real chatter, so we laughed, had coffee and just chatted will everyone and listened to everyone’s story.”

Yolandie also said at times it was difficult to be positive, but after her husband fell sick she concentrated more on him.

“I stayed positive for my husband and my children,” she said.

Cancer-free

Yolandie finished the Herceptin injections at the end of September 2019 and still goes to her oncologist every three months.

“I am not in remission as per what the law says but I believe I am 100 per cent cured and that my cancer won’t return.”

According to Yolandie, she is doing wonderfully.

“I have lost some weight, my hair is growing and I am just feeling like a new person. I still have issues with arthritis which is a huge side effect of the chemo that I received but I take medication for it.”

She is living life to the fullest as her experience with cancer made her realise how short one’s time on earth really is.

Advice for others

Yolandie urges women to go for mammograms.

“I went through menopause at 48 and was put on a hormone tablet. I think this contributed to my breast cancer. I am never allowed to take any hormonal tablet not even herbal and I still get hot flushes but I deal with it.

“If it was not for my medical aid which only pays for a mammogram every second year, I believe they could have detected it in 2017 already and maybe my cancer would not have been so far advanced.”

Her advice to those who have been diagnosed with cancer or another life-threatening illness is to pray and leave it in God’s hands.

“Go out, go for walks, eat that cake, drink that cocktail, laugh with your friends and don’t fight over stupid stuff. Learn to be patient and tolerant with people as we all fight battles that no one else knows about,” Yolandie said.

She also suggests people don’t google their symptoms as it will only cause unnecessary fear and anxiety.