Althea Williams proves there’s life after cancer

“IT’s something I didn’t want to hear. I was on my way to the hospital for something else and the tears just flowed and flowed. I felt so sad. It was nothing I looked forward to.”

Althea Williams told All Woman that in January 2010 when she felt a lump in her left breast while showering, she spoke to her doctor but held on to the hope that it was probably fibrocystic breast disease, which can cause fluctuations in breast lumps during a woman’s menstrual cycle.

“I did a mammogram in November or December, and she [the doctor] was saying the mammogram was looking good. The mammogram only showed that I had fibrocystic breasts, but it [lump] was still there in February so I did an ultrasound this time. When the results came back they said there was a suspicious lump, so I was recommended to do a biopsy. This time when I went and got it done, I prayed and hoped that everything would be benign, but unfortunately it wasn’t to be so. I got a call from my doctor and he said, ‘Althea, the report came back and it is malignant — cancerous’,” Williams said.

Now faced with reality, Williams said she was given two options for surgery — either a mastectomy or lumpectomy. But she had difficulty making up her mind.

“I was told that not many people are candidates for a lumpectomy but I still could not make up my mind. That period of time to decide which one to do was difficult, but time was running out. I went back to him and said if it was your daughter or your wife, what would you do? He reminded me that I was a candidate for a lumpectomy and that not many patients have that option, So I said OK, I’m going to do the lumpectomy,” she explained.

Facing the treatment was no bed of roses for Williams, as she said an unfortunate twist of fate caused her to do chemotherapy which she described as “the worst treatment you could give to a human being”.

“I did a pathological report to test everything. They removed my lymph nodes because they said it could be a contributor to the cancer. They removed 17 and they tested negative so I felt good as they said when your lymph nodes are negative you don’t have to do chemo and we all hear about chemo, how it’s hard and terrible, so I was happy,” she said.

“But when I went to the oncologist for further treatment he said this cancer is very aggressive and since it’s aggressive I’d have to treat it aggressively,” she said.

Williams pointed out that she had HER2-positive breast cancer, which is a breast cancer that tests positive for a protein called human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2), which promotes the growth of cancer cells.

In about one in every five breast cancers, the cancer cells have a gene mutation that makes an excess of the HER2 protein. HER2-positive breast cancers tend to be more aggressive than other types of breast cancer. They’re less likely to be sensitive to hormone therapy, though many people with HER2-positive breast cancer can still benefit from hormone therapy.

Subsequently, Williams had to do chemotherapy, radiation, and receive herceptin treatment, which specifically targets HER2.

She said though she never looked forward to chemotherapy, she knew it was something she had to do and quickly adjusted to the changes that would come.

“I was just living one day at a time and trying not to accept what people always say. They would say you can’t eat this and that, but it’s really after the chemo that you go on a special diet. Things I used to do I can’t do them anymore, for instance going to an all-inclusive resort and enjoying the jacuzzi. I can’t immerse myself in it because I have to be careful of too much heat, and with the lymph nodes out, I can’t place too much pressure on them,” she said.

She added: “I lost the hair but my eyelashes and brows were intact. My daughter was a tower of strength to me. I remember after the first treatment of chemotherapy I lost my hair and when I told her she said if you lose the hair you can buy a wig, if you lose your eyebrows you can use a pencil to fill it in. Apart from her, the support group Reach to Recovery did a lot for me. I saw survivors of two years, three years, 10, 15, so I said OK this is not a death sentence.”

Williams said her encouragement to women would be to have good insurance policies and to do their breast self-examinations.

“Early detection will help you. Examine your breasts and anything you feel that is abnormal, check it out. Also, it’s not a death sentence. Once you can get it treated you’re on your way of having a better chance of survival. I had to be doing a lot of fundraisers to get treatment done, so ensure you take out good insurance policies. The herceptin would run me up to $207,000 every three weeks, but luckily the Ministry of Health helped and I got some sponsorship,” she said.

Now a survivor for six years, Williams said she is thankful each day that she lives and gets her assurance through the survivors she sees.

“Through them I realise I can move on and live my life. Every now and again it breaks you and you feel sadness, but you just give God thanks and say you’ve seen me through the worst,” she said.