By Abigail Headley
Sylvia Diaz, a vivacious and dedicated pre-school teacher, wife, and mother of two beautiful girls, was living her best life until she discovered a lump under her left breast in 2020. Although cancer was the last thing on her mind, the unbearable pain drove her to visit her local health centre. Upon examination, the lump was found to be suspicious and Diaz was referred to the Georgetown Public Hospital for a biopsy.
The biopsy revealed what the health centre workers had suspected; Diaz was diagnosed with breast cancer. She was just about to enter the second stage of the cancer when it was detected, so the doctors wasted no time in having her do a mastectomy. In addition to having her left breast removed, Diaz said, 33 lymph nodes were removed from her arm. Later, she underwent seven rounds of chemotherapy treatment. These were followed by 33 radiation sessions.