Know your normal

HERS is a story of faith, resilience, mental fortitude and survival, after emerging victorious in the fight against breast cancer.

Denika Lundy, who hails from Syracuse, New York, in the United States, has kept breast cancer at bay for almost 21 years as she travels around the world spreading awareness about the deadly disease through her organisation 2Sisters4Life, Inc.

The entity was formed in collaboration with her younger sister Dory, who was also diagnosed with breast cancer, but eventually lost her battle.

Now, with even greater resolve since the loss of her sister in 2011, Lundy is keeping the conversation — as well as her sister’s legacy — alive, encouraging women to “know your normal” by doing regular breast self-examinations.

“Because I lost my sister after her second fight at the age of 35, I have an internal flame to continue this conversation to eradicate this disease from our memory,” she said, noting that her family has a long history of breast and ovarian cancer. Both sisters were diagnosed when they each reached age 27.

Lundy’s travels took her to Jamaica six years ago when she shared her journey with several people informally, and also in an interview on local television programme CVM at Sunrise, facilitated by former Director of Communications in the Office of the Prime Minister Lois Grant.

She told All Woman that she hopes her message then had an impact and continues to resonate with Jamaicans.

“I pray that the knowledge of knowing your normal has spread across Jamaica. I have hopes that having this conversation [about] knowing your normal will increase the survival rate in Jamaica!” she said emphatically.

“When you know your normal, if something is different then you could be proactive in the care you need in increasing the chance of a higher survival rate — instead of waiting for a doctor to tell you that you are in the later stages of cancer with no hope,” she said.

Lundy also advises women to act immediately if they discover anything amiss. She says while she believes early detection saved her life, she didn’t make the right choice when she waited six months after she found a lump under her arm to get it checked out.

“Whether I was afraid or ignoring my health, it did not help me to wait. I was diagnosed with stage two invasive breast cancer. I did four rounds of chemotherapy. I have had a bilateral mastectomy and reconstruction to aid in getting the cancer out,” she said.

Unfortunately, Lundy’s doctors told her she carries a cancer gene which is “basically sleeping inside me and it could be woken up again”. She says she has some fears, especially when it’s time for her yearly check-up, but that each time she’s clear it makes her want to help another woman or man going through it.

“Last year I rang my own bell when I survived 20 years of cancer sleeping,” she said, noting that faith in God has helped her along her journey.

Lundy, who has travelled to as far as Gabon, Africa, to heighten awareness, said she began her campaign right in the inner city from where she hails. There, she said, the lack of knowledge about cancer helped to claim the lives of women of colour.

“What I noticed is: White women get breast cancer first and black and brown women die of it first. So we geared our focus to the inner-city communities, underprivileged communities where most women are black and brown and [where] we are lacking the knowledge of breast cancer and dying,” she said.

As such, 2Sisters4Life, Inc seeks to educate and empower women and men in these communities, as well as provide support services in terms of resources.

On her organisation’s website www.2Sisters4Life.com, Lundy promises to “hold your hand and uplift you. I will help find resources to help you, I will help you understand what is happening to you. I will cry with you and wipe your tears after”.

“When someone is diagnosed with breast cancer 2Sisters4Life, Inc can connect them to resources they might need. Whether it’s insurance needs, transportation to the doctor, food, gift cards, also other agencies that have money available to help for rent or medical, 2Sisters4Life, Inc has fund-raisers where we pick someone going through cancer here in our city to shower with gifts and encouragement. We also connect them to local support groups — women and men alike — [as] no one is exempt from this disease.”

Also found on the resource section of her website is a pictograph showing how to do self-breast examinations, wherein it is recommended that this be done once a month, two to three days after the monthly period. It advises to examine breasts in the mirror for lumps or skin dimpling, change in skin colour or texture, nipple deformation, colour change, or leaks of any fluid.

“We need to be knowledgeable. Know your normal! If you notice any changes, you can now be active in your health and see a doctor. Keep a monthly reminder to self-examine,” Lundy said.