Ify Anne Nwabukwu, BSN, RN

The African Women’s Cancer Awareness Association (AWCAA) was launched on September 11, 2004, as a result of my experience in dealing with breast cancer from two women who I loved and had made a great impact in my life.

First was my mother, Mrs. Lucy Chidozie Adaba (Nee Onwumah) and second my best friend, Dr. Chinwe Mmaegbunam Otue-Agugua.

After I had my last baby in 1989, I invited my mother to the USA to help with taking care of me and her granddaughter. Little did we know that she was walking around with breast cancer. Because my mother was a known diabetic, I took her to see an endocrinologist upon her arrival. The doctor decided to do a general body examination, only to find a mass on her right breast.

My mother had been working with the thought that it was congealed breast milk. She explained that her last child didn’t breastfeed well, so it was breast milk that was still sitting there. She had been treating it with warm compress and popping pain relief medications to subside the pains. Subsequent diagnosis confirmed that the lump was cancerous. This was Stage 2 breast cancer.

At the time of her diagnosis, she had no health insurance, neither was I prepared for her to get sick with cancer. She had not lived in the USA long enough to qualify for Medicare or Medicaid. I had a huge problem in my hands. While I was thinking about the possible options, my best friend Dr. Chinwe Otue-Agugua who was a trauma Surgeon by profession walked in. On knowing the situation at hand, she came to my aid and saved us the anguish. She rallied together her professional colleagues and they treated my mother pro bono. She had a radical mastectomy on her right breast but without reconstruction. She recovered and went back to Africa where she lived.

Unfortunately, the cancer came back 17 years later and she succumbed to it. The cancer had metastasized to her liver and she died on April 26, 2007 at the age of 85. Dr. Chinwe Otue – Agugua, was ironically diagnosed with Stage 21/2 breast cancer herself, 12 years after my mother’s first diagnosis. She battled her cancer for six years and succumbed to the disease due to breast cancer metastasis to her liver. She died on October 29, 2008.
The death of these women taught me that a lot. I saw that breast cancer does not discriminate. It has no restrictions to certain educational levels, age boundaries, nationality or ethnicity, religion, financial status or gender clause.

The statistics that 1 in every 8 women will be diagnosed with breast cancer in their lifetime has become real to me. Knowing all of these, I became a committed advocate for early screening and adhered to making sure I had my yearly mammogram. Good thing I did that because in 2016 I too was diagnosed with breast cancer.

Hello!!! I was diagnosed with Stage 0 Breast Cancer. At Stage 0, the cancer is not up to 1 cm and is contained in the milk ducts. At Stage 0, if left untreated, could develop into more serious cancer. I was finally forced to face reality, subject myself to my own teachings, the work I have been doing on breast cancer through AWCAA and take the required actions.

It was an agonizing time in my life. It was an emotional roller coaster, but there was no time to dilly dally. I had to quickly weigh my options and decide what was the best treatment option for me. I had to nip this cancer in the bud as soon as possible. After consultation with my family, I finally decided to have a double mastectomy for my peace of mind. Since my mother died from the disease, it was obvious that the gene runs in my family.

I have had five surgeries since then. One bold step I took was to make my diagnosis public. This has helped to inspire the many women I have worked with. And further strengthen my testimony which confirms that early detection of breast cancer saves lives. When detected early, you stand a 95-100% chance of survival. Early detection is the Key.

Work continues through research, education and cutting-edge science to find a cure for breast cancer. But until then, we are all in this battle together racing against time to save more lives from death to breast cancer. We are playing our part through AWCAA, working tirelessly with African women to reduce the mortality rate of breast cancer.