Breast cancer survivor Dorothy Faria feels she has been given a second chance and lives each day in pursuit of her passion while being thankful to God for sparing her life.
While speaking to Stabroek News recently about her involvement in teaching her Wapishana culture to the youth of her native village – Sand Creek in Region Nine, Faria disclosed that she is a cancer survivor.
She said her passion lies with transmitting her knowledge to others and when the 59-year-old speaks about her love for her indigenous culture, it is difficult to tell that she has overcome a life-threatening illness.
She recalled that one day in 2005, while lying in her hammock after a hard day’s work, as her hand came to rest on her breast she felt something that was never there before – a lump. She immediately became alarmed since she had attended many workshops and was aware of information on cancer.
The night was long and restless as she worried about her discovery. The next day, she went to the medic and was referred to the Lethem Hospital for further tests.
In Lethem, when she was examined by a doctor, she was told that the lump was an abscess, given medication and sent home. But she used the medication and the lump remained, so Faria went back to the doctor and again was given medication.
She then decided to consult another doctor there and was referred to a hospital in Bon Fin, Brazil. That doctor in turn referred her to the women’s hospital in Boa Vista. There, she was attended to by an oncologist who did a biopsy and sent the samples to a laboratory in Sao Paulo.
A month later, she was told that the cells were cancerous. “I was so scared when I heard,” Faria said. She was then informed of the procedure and what was required of her if she wanted to prolong her life. She opted to have the surgery done in Guyana at the Cancer Institute in the Georgetown Hospital compound.
“It wasn’t easy,” she said of her experience. In addition to it being costly, she had to undergo 24 sessions of radiation and eight doses of chemotherapy, which she described as “the worst drug ever”. While admitting that this was a very difficult period for her, she was able to gather the strength and faith to pull through because she never gave up.
She said that the care that she received at the hospital was good and she was grateful for the help she received from her friends and relations before and after her surgery.
In her recovery period, she spent two years in Georgetown away from her hometown in the Rupununi. She said there were many times when she was homesick but visits from her family, gave her the encouragement she needed. “You have to have a happy atmosphere, you can’t afford to be stressed,” she advised.
It has now been three years since she has been living cancer-free and she credits this to her change in lifestyle and more importantly her diet. Fresh air, she believes is very important along with long walks.
“You have to have faith; believe that there is God and you can overcome anything,” Faria said in her advice to persons who may be currently afflicted by the disease. This is her equation for living many more years. Of equal value, is her advice that patients need to listen to their doctors and place greater emphasis on healthy eating.
Now, she spends most of her time teaching youths from her community about their culture and its importance, which she describes as her purpose in life. The women in her village and those she may meet on her travels, she takes time to educate them about cancer and tells them her story – the ability to overcome her illness through a positive outlook.