How Breast Cancer Diagnosis differs from Wisconsin to West Africa
By Juliet Uzoma-Aguwa
Juliet with Courage To Dare Ambassadors and project team members from Nigeria pose with school children who have been affected by breast cancer through loved ones, during the outreach event at University of Lagos, Nigeria-West Africa.• From Left: Ms Monalisa Chinda (Nollywood Actress), Mr. Kelechi Amadi-obi, Juliet, Ms. Kate Henshaw (Nolly wood Actress), D’Amadeus, Ms. Julia Amadi-Obi
When breast cancer strikes, it doesn’t matter if you’re young or old, Black or White, religious or atheist, man or woman, short or tall, skinny or fat, or have a family history of it or a clean slate. One thing is certain: breast cancer does not discriminate.
For me, none of the aforementioned mattered and I was the least likely person to have breast cancer. At 34 years old, I discovered a lump on my left breast. Two weeks before I found the lump, my husband and I had gone for our yearly physical exams at a Hospital in Michigan where we lived with our two beautiful daughters. Everything turned out normal for both of us; however, shortly thereafter it was not. I went back to the hospital and after a series of tests, I was told to go for a biopsy where tissue from the breast is removed and examined for signs of breast cancer.
By the time my husband and I went back for the biopsy results, I had already overcome my tears, the anger, and the denial. I was young.
How could I have cancer? I didn’t have any family history of the disease and I just had a few months left to graduate with a degree in medical case management.
For the same reasons I wept, I was able to cope and gain the strength to fight cancer for the sake of my family. I told my girls ‘no one else is going to raise you but me.’
At the time, I knew little about breast cancer and quite honestly didn’t think I had to at my age. But with the diagnosis at hand, I began to immerse myself in information about the illness and decided giving up was not an option. I mentally told myself that we all have a story, and I’m willing to see where the road leads me and how it will impact my life. Throughout treatment, I continued to pursue my studies and participating in classes distracted me from the pain. My family and friends were also very supportive during the process and instrumental in my recovery.
Once I had beaten breast cancer and was well again, I set out to accomplish another feat. Having gone through all the stages of cancer treatment and emerging a survivor, I knew I had to do something for the thousands of people all over the world, especially in Africa, who couldn’t access information and treatment like I had been privileged to. So I started a nonprofit organization called Courage to Dare.
Courage to Dare has impacted the lives of many men and women of West African descent. We strive to educate and raise the awareness on breast cancer to thousands of people each year, and make it possible for low-income individuals to have access to preventive mammogram screenings with the help of other organizations like Nurses Affecting Change, CAUSSE, The Sister’s Network, Froedtert Medical College, and the Touch of Life Foundation. Through my work with Courage to Dare I believe I have broken the silence found in West African communities worldwide about breast cancer.
One of my main goals in starting Courage to Dare is for everyone to have access to high-quality healthcare, professionals and facilities. If they at least have that advantage as a breast cancer patient it will help them not treat the diagnosis as a death sentence, and encourage them to still live life to its fullest. Another long-term goal of mines is to inspire millions of African women who have lost hope, and to let them know there is life after cancer.
I want them all to have the courage to dare cancer.
And as for everyone else, I would like to share the most important lesson I learned through this experience which is, ‘the future is not promised to anyone so get in touch with your body enough to know when changes occur.’
To learn more about Courage to Dare please visit www.couragetodare.org.
Juliet Uzoma-Aguwa is a breast cancer survivor who started the nonprofit organization the Courage to Dare Foundation. She is Nigerian and an American citizen. Since the inception of Courage to Dare, Juliet has helped countless women learn more about breast cancer and how they can, too, defeat it.