Raise The Pink Ribbon For Breast Cancer Awareness

When first diagnosed with breast cancer, one feels lost and alone. The Pink Ribbon Wellness (L) Foundation, formed mostly by breast cancer survivors, are here to help.

- Hannah May-Lee Wong

HER STORY, HER VISION

When Puan Sri Maniseh Adam first found out she had breast cancer, it was December 2010 and she was 68 years old. “I was on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for a very long time. I took it very casually as my gynaecologist only told me that HRT was protective towards heart disease. 

What she did not tell me was that it was linked to breast cancer,” she recalls.

“I was very careful,” Puan Sri Maniseh shares. “I did a mammogram and ultrasound every year since I had a hysterectomy done at 50 years old (due to some problems I’ve been having with cysts). I had the hysterectomy to prevent cancer in the uterine region.

I took care of my breasts as well. I made sure to exercise regularly and keep a healthy diet.” Year after year, her mammograms and ultrasound results always came out normal.

Some time later, Puan Sri Maniseh moved to a new housing area and found herself a new clinic that was closer to home. It was only there they found that she had breast cancer. She was then referred to Datuk Dr Devanand, a consultant breast surgeon and one of the founders of the Pink Ribbon Wellness (L) Foundation. Through the initial MRI scan, she was diagnosed with Stage 2 cancer of the breast, with three affected lymph nodes. Wasting no time and fuelled with determination to survive this, she scheduled her breast cancer surgery within a week from detection.

During the surgery, her surgeon discovered that her cancer was in fact at Stage 2B – more lymph nodes were affected than initially expected. The surgeon made the decision of removing all her lymph nodes around the area.