13/10/2024
To raise awareness about the importance of early detection in please share this testimonial of a breast cancer survivor in Mauritius who has been referred by Dr Rika Pienaar in South Africa for the MammaPrint test offered by Gknowmix.
”It is Cancer” said the surgeon who had performed the Tru Cut biopsy. As I was processing the news, I realised that I wasn’t scared by the Cancer itself. I was feeling perfectly fine at the time. No pain, no discomfort whatsoever. The first question I typed into Google’s search tab was “Breast cancer: does everybody need chemo?”.
Frantic searches led to links, websites, patient support forums until amongst all the noise, I had the ‘aha!’ moment:
“If you decide to have the MammaPrint test, you and your doctor will consider a number of factors when deciding on whether to add chemotherapy to your treatment plan”. “Whether to add”, those precious three words meant that chemotherapy is not always necessary, and I hung onto this hope. As luck will have it, I also had the ‘right’ type of breast cancer for the MammaPrint test.
Post surgery, I went back to see the oncologist I was referred to after diagnosis. He did not seem to have all the details regarding MammaPrint but was adamant that this test would be a waste of my time and money because, in my case, avoiding the Big C was not an option.
According to his calculations, I had a 29% risk of relapse within 10 years, and on this basis, he drew a calendar for my chemotherapy. 6 rounds of chemo, followed by 30 rounds of radiation therapy. With resting time in between this forecast meant that I would be on the cancer wagon until February 2015.
I was mentally getting ready to undergo chemo, but I would only agree to it if it was necessary for me. Two weeks later, Dr Rika Pienaar, the referring oncologist for MammaPrint in Cape Town, announced the results I was hoping for: My MammaPrint test revealed a low risk of recurrence within the next 5 years and I could safely skip chemo, if I so wished.
I completed my last round of radiation therapy in South Africa exactly three months and three days after surgery.
There was no fight, no battle engaged on this journey. It was a smooth ride, I was fully functional throughout, and never once did I feel or look sick. In fact, most people had no idea I was being treated for cancer.
It pains me to know that to this day, too many women are being ‘subjected’ to chemotherapy for close to zero benefit. Back in 2014, the logistics to send my sample for MammaPrint testing from Mauritius was a challenge in itself, and I will be eternally grateful to Professor Maritha Kotze for her help in making this happen.
I am glad to see know that Mauritian patients will soon have an easier access to MammaPrint testing in order to make an informed choice regarding chemotherapy.
MammaPrint truly is the game-changer.
- Patient Nelly, diagnosed at 41 years old
