Breast cancer warrior Arana Thompson grateful to be still fighting

If Arana Thompson, a 48-year-old breast cancer survivor, could go back in time, she would have ensured that her mammogram was still done during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Her last mammogram, before her cancer diagnosis, was done before the start of the pandemic, and it was after the pandemic had somewhat subsided that she decided to do a check-up during her vacation time in June 2022.

“For me, it was kind of surreal because I found out on my birthday (June 9) in 2022. I hardly get time off from my office, so I waited until my birthday to take certain leave and then get my executives and other tests done. I went to my gynaecologist in May 2022 [as] I was having some issues since I have fibroids. I told him that I kept feeling a shocking pain in my right breast, and it was tough, but because I waited so long, it was more than a lump. It was a mass, and basically, it took up half of my breast,” Thompson told The Gleaner.

The diagnosis and progression of the cancer were a surprise for Thompson and her doctor. For Thompson, the pandemic had kept her away from the doctor, and despite the pain, breast cancer was the furthest from her mind. She had taken to rubbing Vicks on the area to ease the discomfort.

The period after diagnosis and treatment had been a rough one for Thompson. She had her elderly parents to care for, the pandemic was still in effect, and a construction project which was near completion at her home had to be put on hold because she had to pay for cancer treatment instead.

“Breast cancer has not only changed my perception of life, but also my pocket. If persons [were] aware of how much it costs, the entire treatment and what cancer does to your body, that is awareness alone, [so] get to know your body,” Thompson said.

REGULAR TESTS

In addition to treatment for HER2-positive breast cancer, she has to undergo regular heart tests and has to visit a physiotherapist fortnightly for back pains and discomfort associated with her lumpectomy, which saw her also removing lymph nodes.

Through it all, Thompson is grateful for the persons who stood beside her throughout her journey, especially her son and partner.

“It’s a completely different body. I’ve never been this bad. I actually started dating someone a year before I found out about it, so I told him, and he told me I didn’t have cancer, but the long and short is that he actually held me and prayed until tears fell on us, and this is the first I’m talking about it... I’ve never seen that part of him before. God is part of everybody’s recovery,” Thompson told Living.

“He has been supportive. I lost my hair. My skin got peely, and he was there through it all, and he is still with me... I really looked horrible. It was horrible,” she said.

Like many other women in the fight, Thompson has met and lost new friends who were battling breast cancer, with her closest, Kerry-Ann Robinson, dying two weeks ago, which rocked her.

“We were doing treatment together, and I keep wondering, [‘What happened?’]... [Breast cancer], it’s like after you buy a car. You have to service it. There is so much to do, and you have to educate yourself about it, and if you don’t do these things, you will die,” Thompson told The Gleaner.

Now that she has endured the battle, Thompson dubs herself “a fighter”.

“Fighter, because even though you are diagnosed with breast cancer, and you have survived surgery and chemotherapy, you are still a fighter, because there is so much more to do regarding the aftercare, the symptoms, and it’s so frightening to stay alive,” Thompson said.

“I know I have to be strong for so many persons. There are so many things that you have to go through. I went through every part of the system to find out how I can make my payments. For example, I went to [National] Chest Hospital to find out it’s free to put in the port, while others charge over $100,000, so these are the things I have been researching and sharing as well with other women,” she said.

In January, Thompson will do her scan to find out if her cancer has gone into remission or if she is still actively fighting this disease.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com