I’m a survivor!

SHE’S ambitious, open-minded, positive, and believes you can do all things as long as you try.

Debby-Ann McKenzie Cookes, a 50-year-old mother of three and a wife for 24 years, told All Woman that she has always been pro health and entered the nursing profession on that basis, with the intention to care for people.

But in her ninth year as a nurse her life changed course as she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She said she was led to do the test after a long shower in her new home.

“It was January 2000 and I had just moved into my new home in Greater Portmore and we didn’t have any water, so the day when the water came back I was really enjoying my shower and my hand led me to this lump,” she said. “My youngest child, who was four at the time, was always feeling me so I called her and said, ‘Feel this, baby, have you felt this before?’ She said no, and I called my husband and asked him, and he said no. The following day I went to work and told the doctor in the accident and emergency department and he felt it. It was an obvious one, because you could feel it and see it through the skin and he said, ‘OK, I’m going to take out the lump’.”

Being 35 at the time, McKenzie Cookes said the doctor initially brushed off the option of a mammogram and referred her to do an ultrasound, but after giving it some thought he followed his gut feeling and instructed her to do the procedure.

“At first he said, ‘Cho, you too young fi do mammogram’ and I never knew of a family history of it. The same night he called me and said he was going to let me do the mammogram,” she said.

And as fate would have it, the mammogram picked up another growth in her breasts. After the biopsy was done, McKenzie Cookes said the lump came back benign, but the growth in the other area (her milk duct) was malignant.

She said on receiving the news she was shocked, but she handled it well as she went against protocol in obtaining the results of the biopsy.

“I collected the results via telephone. It was taking too long — six to eight weeks — and I was anxious. So I called the lab, identified myself as Sister Cookes from Kingston Public Hospital and the person went and gave me the results. When I heard that it had reach a malignant stage I stopped and I sighed and even then the lady didn’t pick up. I was in infection control at the time and the public health nurse saw me and was concerned because she saw my expression. I told her the result wasn’t good and she started to cry. But even though I was shocked I told her, Don’t cry, because all is well’,” she said.

The doctor set a surgery date and even then she said she remained positive as she trusted the same health care system that she worked in.

“I was thinking, I have a four-year-old, a seven-year-old and a 14-year-old and they need me. I was thinking this is not a death sentence, because being a nurse I have seen where it has worked and I trust the system and was confident. I was happy I caught it in time and I was prepared to do whatever I could to preserve life. Being a God-fearing person I said, ‘Lord this is yours’, and left it in His hands from there,” she said.

On February 5, 2000, McKenzie Cookes did a radical mastectomy before going through radiation and chemotherapy. She said that the first aspect of treatment was good, but in the last stages she became fearful.

“The radiation wasn’t bad. The chemo was the scary part because I lost my hair and I was fearful of the side effects like vomiting. I remember saying to the doctor that I wanted to do the natural thing and he said no and placed me on the medication to reduce the side effects. I did it [chemotherapy] for about six months and during the last set my veins collapsed and I started crying because of the trauma. I remember getting out of the couch and they ran me down and took me back. But the good thing is I did chemo the Thursday and by Monday I was up and running,” she said.

Now the deputy matron/deputy director of nursing at KPH, McKenzie Cookes said it has been 15 years since she has been cancer-free and even the little things she feared, she overcame.

“One of my greatest fears was losing my hair and when it went I got a wig and one day in the changing room I just removed it and shocked everyone. A doctor friend of mine said, ‘Put it on back!’ and I said no, anyone who doesn’t want to see me will just have to look elsewhere,” she said.

But she pointed out that in 2010 she got a scare as she developed jaundice, had a swollen stomach and her liver shut down. At this point she said she began preparing her family, but after a liver biopsy was done it revealed an unrelated autoimmune condition.

There are a few changes she has had to make such as removing her ovaries as her cancer cells were oestrogen dependent and tailoring her diet, which she said was a bit difficult.

“Initially I wasn’t a person who ate a lot. I cut out the red meat and cut out certain things and it wasn’t working, so I came to the conclusion that if I’m going to die, I’m going to die a happy woman so I’m going to eat what I want to eat but do it in moderation. So if I feel for a piece of beef I’m going to eat it, if I feel for a piece of chicken I’ll eat it. I remember being instructed to go on green juice and these were things I never appreciated,” she said.

McKenzie Cookes added that apart from family, her support came from church as they had organised who would come by her house and do the chores. Guided by the philosophies, ‘There but for the grace of God, go I’ and ‘I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me’, she said her motivation to other women is to listen to their bodies and don’t neglect their monthly self-examinations. She said for those battling the disease, surrounding themselves with positive influence is best.

“Stay away from negative people and negative thoughts. It’s not a death sentence and with the advancements we’ve made, you can live. Do your tests, be positive and talk about it and embrace it. Prosthesis comes in all colours, shapes and sizes. When you are positive you give others hope,” she said.