#BreastCancerSurvivor: I thank God for my scars

ASK any cancer patient or survivor how they’ve managed to fight the disease and most will tell you that it is through the support of others that they are able to brave it. And Bluff resident, Roline Labuschagne, can attest to this having beaten cancer three times in eight years.

“Having had both breasts removed does not worry me. I’ve declined to have plastic surgery done and I thank God when I look at my scars because I am healed,” said the 71-year-old survivor.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness month and Roline’s proactiveness at having regular checks could be what saved her from the disease, as many early detection cases have resulted in remission. Her journey with breast cancer began in the middle of May 2011.

“I went for my normal mammogram and they said I was fine and could go home. The following day the doctor saw a tiny mark with his naked eye, so I had to go back for an ultrasound and there it was, this little mass, less than a centimetre. By mid-June, I had had my operation and they took off half of my breast,” she said.

READ ALSO: Breast cancer is also a man’s disease

The operation was a success and just like that, she had won her first battle with breast cancer. It wasn’t smooth sailing, however, as during the course of her treatment doctors sent her back on the operating table to remove the other half of her breast. And in September of the same year, another cancer discovery posed a threat.

“They sent me for an ultrasound at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital. The doctor was supposed to do an ultrasound on my chest, but he did an abdominal one and there was a thing on my kidney, three centimetres big but they told me it was a cyst. Then in December I had a CT scan and on the 19th I saw the urologist and they told me my cancer had cleared, even though I was never told I had had it,” she recalled.

Roline’s kidney was removed in January 2012 and just three days after the surgery, she was discharged. She was cleared of both cancers, and seven and a half years later, she felt a lump in the other breast. Cancer had spread to the other breast which was removed this year in April.

 
“I’m grateful for the support from my husband, children, friends, the Bluff, Merebank and Wentworth cancer support group and the ministry at the Dutch Reformed Church. I especially want to thank our minister, Francois Neethling who has been so good to me. Through the grace of God, I have healed,” said the mother of three and grandmother of seven.

Since her first encounter with breast cancer, Roline and a friend started paying visits to cancer patients at Inkosi Albert Luthuli Central Hospital to pass on words of motivation. She is also involved with Cupcake Angel and CHOC.

She’s defeated her own battle with cancer but continues to brave the fight hand-in-hand with those who are in a battlefield of their own.

READ ALSO: 10 facts about breast cancer that could save your life

DID YOU KNOW?
Click on the words highlighted in red to read more on this and related topics.
To receive news links via WhatsApp or Telegram, send an invite to 061 876 3179
The Southlands Sun is also on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest – why not join us there?

Do you have more information pertaining to this story?
Feel free to let us know by commenting on our facebook page or you can contact our newsroom on 031 903 2341 and speak to a journalist.

To receive our free newsletter click here

(Comments posted on this issue may be used for publication in the Sun)