Doctor’s counselling gave me hope - Aguti

Ms Betty Christine Aguti, 55, cancer survivor. PHOTO | SUZAN NANJALA

What you need to know:

  • Ms Aguti, 55, says the news that she had cancer was heartbreaking. 
  • Upon the return of the results from Mulago, she could not bear to hear the truth until the doctor who had done the test restored hope in her. 

The sharp pain in Ms Betty Christine Aguti’s right breast prompted her to seek medical attention and indeed it was confirmed that she had cancer of the breast.

 It started with intense pain in the armpits until one day while she was showering, she felt a lump on her right breast.

Ms Aguti, 55, says the news that she had cancer was heartbreaking. 
Upon the return of the results from Mulago, she could not bear to hear the truth until the doctor who had done the test restored hope in her. 

The doctor told her that she had breast cancer which needed to be handled before it would spread to the whole body.
 “I was heartbroken but my hope was through the doctor who kept on counselling me up to the time of the operation and throughout the entire time while on treatment,’’ she says.

At the time of her diagnosis in 2007, Ms Aguti was pursuing her diploma at Kaliro National Teachers College.
Ms Aguti did the operation the same year from Soroti Regional Referral Hospital and then Mulago hospital for further management.

She received encouragement and strength from family members and friends. 
“Indeed it’s a miracle and God loves me greatly because what I went through was unbearable,” she gladly says.
Unlike other women, who are supported by their spouses during critical moments, Ms Aguti’s case was not the same. Upon her pronouncement to the husband that she had cancer, she faced rejection.

“When my husband heard that I was diagnosed with breast cancer, he divorced me, until now I am single,” she says. 
Ms Aguti says her husband was misled that if he slept with her, he would also contract cancer.
Since the operation, Ms Aguti says she has since picked up her pieces and moved on. 

“Having lost my breast and marriage. This was too much for me to handle as a person but God has been there for me because I moved on,” she says.
 After full recovery, I was able to embark on my teaching career at Arapai Primary School, where I am also a deputy head teacher.

Advice
Ms Aguti advises people to avoid constant worry. “If you stress yourself, you will die faster. You need to be strong and move on like any other person,” she says.
 Ms Aguti says cancer patients should always follow what the doctors recommend when it comes to lifestyle and feeding. 

Breast cancer develops from breast tissue and some of its signs are lump in the breast, a change in breast shape and fluid leaking from the nipple.
 
Cancer services
Services that will be offered by UMC Victoria Hospital for the Cancer month.
1. Free breast cancer screening at our hospital and UMC Entebbe Clinic.
2. Free specialist/ doctor consultation
3. Cancer Tumor Markers tests. (CA 153 and CEA) Both at Shs50,000 . 50 per cent discount on extra investigation like, Breast ultra-sound at Shs30,000 and Cervical Cancer screening at Shs50,000
The programme will run from  October 1 to October 31, 2020.