Diagnosed at 16, Tamika Thompson survived breast cancer

IN your teenage years you are in the prime of your life; you are slowly finding your identity, understanding your body, knowing your likes and dislikes and gradually becoming an adult.

At that time the last thing you want to hear is that you have a disease that could potentially be fatal — cancer. But for Tamika Thompson, that was the case.

“At age 13 I had a lump that kept recurring. When I turned 14 I had surgery done to remove it and at age 16 the lump returned. When it came back my mother decided to change doctors and in April 1994, on Good Friday, I was told that it was cancerous,” Thompson told All Woman.

As a 16-year-old Thompson, now 39, recalls crying and feeling very scared as she saw the diagnosis as a death knell.

“I thought I wouldn’t survive because when you hear cancer people say it’s a death sentence. So at first I thought I wouldn’t survive. I was young and as a teenager I was confused and hurt, and I asked, why me?” she said.

After the diagnosis Thompson was told that she had to do a mastectomy by the following week, which cast a pall of gloom over her.

“I asked things like, ‘will I be able to get a boyfriend if I lived’? However, I remember being told it’s not the end of the world and I decided to tough it out.

“I had to adjust my lifestyle. At 16 I was in my prime. After the mastectomy I was afraid to wear certain clothes. I closed off; my friends noticed I had changed and wasn’t communicating like before, and I didn’t go to places like before. I remember when I told friends they were sad, and you would believe it was they who were sick. But they were a good support system and I still have them as friends, they are like my sisters and alongside my mother, father and sister they were really there for me,” she said.

Fortunately for Thompson the surgery caught everything, and she did not need chemotherapy or radiation, just a dietary adjustment.

It has been 21 years since Thompson has been cancer-free. She shared that despite having only one breast, she hasn’t lost her self-confidence.

“I don’t think of myself as less of a woman. I am enjoying life and giving God thanks because without Him I can’t do anything,” she said.

Now the mother of two children — Josh-Shia and Asher-Neal — Thompson said at times she feels the cancer will come back but she maintains a positive attitude nevertheless.

“After I had my daughter I was told it could come back but it didn’t. I had my son last year and again it didn’t come back. Sometimes I have doubts, but I tell myself that I’ve beaten it before and I can beat it again with God’s help,” she said.

In terms of precautions, Thompson’s message to women is to never ignore a lump.

“You should do your monthly checks. If it’s a lump, get it removed. If it’s cancerous it’s not the end of the world. You can live with cancer, fight it and survive. Don’t fret about it, just enjoy life. Once we start to fret, everything deteriorates,” she said.

She also explained that support groups are available as at the time she was put on to Jamaica Reach to Recovery as her then doctor felt she could not handle the situation.

“My doctor contacted them and they met me in the hospital and they were really helpful. I did not experience chemo, but doing the mastectomy as a young person, it hurt. I needed the support and through that group I received additional help,” she said.

“We’re not six feet under, we have life, so we have to enjoy it. For people going through something similar, don’t give up on life. Through Christ all things are possible; He will never leave us nor forsake us. Be positive and enjoy yourself.”