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To live another day: cancer survivors gain strength from trials
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Raising awareness: A pink ribbon symbolizes awareness for breast cancer, a type of cancer that has the highest number of cases in women (38 percent) in Indonesia according to Globocan 2020. (Unsplash/Angiola Harry)
C
ancer is one of the most life-threatening health conditions, but it can also be a learning and inspiring chapter in someone's life story.
The year was 2016 and Haryati "Fey" Lawidjaja was at the peak of her career. On a certain day, Fey visited a local hospital in Jakarta with a fever and fatigue and was urged to take a blood test. While waiting for her results, she leisurely walked into the ob-gyn office, which happened to be near the waiting lounge. Unbeknownst to her, it would be the start of the biggest battle in her life.
"They told me it was polyp [at first] and scheduled me for surgery," she said. The scheduled date came and she was put under anesthesia as her surgery started. The next time she opened her eyes, however, the medical team would surprise her with the news that the surgery had been aborted.
"That's when I knew something was not right," Fey said. "I was only 38 years old and they told me it was a stage 4B cervical cancer with only a 15 to 18 percent chance of survival."
For Laili Dian Pangestuti, a 43-years old survivor from Banyuwangi, the fateful encounter happened in December 2017. She found a small lump in her breast and the doctor diagnosed her with a benign tumor. One month later, an open biopsy procedure revealed that she had breast cancer.
"I was supposed to get surgery, but the doctor said I needed to undergo chemotherapy instead because I have triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC) [which has no receptors]," she said.
"Even though I was still in stage 1, [they made sure to explain that] TNBC is a tough one to treat [due to the rapid growth rate]," said Laili, who said that she has no other symptoms. "There was no pain whatsoever, just a small lump the size of a mung bean."
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