-The Roxanne Singh story

By Telesha Ramnarine

BEFORE being diagnosed with breast cancer, Roxanne ‘Ann’ Singh led a vibrant, healthy lifestyle. Her life came crashing down though, when doctors confirmed a positive test.
Singh, 53, mother to four daughters, has been a breast cancer survivor for the past three years, and has since joined the Guyana Cancer Foundation Survivors Club.
It all began in 2017 when she felt a sharp pain in her left breast and subsequently discovered a lump. She initially took the right steps in doing research and calling up the ‘Cancer Institute’ to enquire about a possible doctor’s appointment.

But she didn’t follow through with the necessary steps. In fact, she cancelled the appointment thinking that it was really nothing to worry about. But, with each passing week, the lump increased in size, causing her to finally visit the doctor.

She mustered up the courage to do an ultrasound followed by a monogram, which came back with possible malignant findings; this led to a biopsy.
“Finally, after two full weeks of sleepless nights, I received a call that my results were ready. Since I have no family history of cancer, I took the results to my doctor with high hopes of all being well, but my wall of hope came crashing down when the doctor said the results were positive.”
She was crushed. “I felt so many emotions all at once. I was shocked, numb for a few seconds, I couldn’t process what was being said to me. My tears started flowing and I couldn’t think about anything else; it felt like the end of the world for me.”
After composing herself, she went back to the doctor and began the tall list of requirements that was needed if she was going to recover. She did the first surgery, a partial mastectomy, and then began her eight sessions of chemotherapy, followed by 25 sessions of radiation therapy. Currently, she’s on five years of hormonal treatment.
Losing her hair was devastating to her, and it reminded her of her initial pain all over again. “It was more of a personal challenge, even though I had a lot of support from family and friends. I knew so much, yet so little about cancer. My anxiety level was always high and I guess fear was actually my biggest challenge; not knowing if, how or when I will recover. The struggle for survival was real. I was mentally and emotionally drained.”

But the love and support from others helped her to pull through. “Especially from my children; they were and still are my towers of strength. My youngest sister also fought every step with me and I was fortunate to have had an entire social network praying for me.”

Due to all of the treatments associated with the cancer, Singh said her immune system was badly weakened, especially after chemotherapy. “Now even though I’m a hundred per cent better, I do not have the same vitality as before but I’m trying to get there.”

Singh said her illness has made her realise just how fragile life is. “So now, my well-being is my number one priority. I continue to eat well. My diet has changed drastically; no meat, no dairy products, no sugar, no soda, etc. I am using lots of fruits, vegetables and beans and I drink only herbal and green teas. I do daily exercises and keep my stress level down.”
Her advice to others like her is, “Stay positive. It is the most important thing that you can do; worrying only worsens your health. There will be days where it seems like things will never get better, but you will get through it.”