Awakening after adversity

Author and wellness advocate JILL ALPHONSO says the one thing that breast cancer taught her was to prioritise herself-a lesson every young woman must learn.

The biggest thing I've learnt about overcoming breast cancer is that survivorship is a thing. A hot, twisty, messy, uncomfortable situation that bites and snarls at the throat, and the hair. It grips at the layer just under your skin, that place you can feel but not see. It crawls and creeps, whispers and snakes at you-just there, and when you least expect it.

That has been my own experience as I exited the most critical stages of my own breast cancer journey. It began with a diagnosis in November 2022, when a routine mammogram uncovered a spear-shaped, inelegantly formed, soft and imperceptible tumour rising from my left breast, just above my heart.

The unwelcome diagnosis led to an, at first, just-asunwelcome mastectomy in late January 2023. In the aftermath, I surprised myself by feeling empowered, transformed in my skin and spirit having traversed this path. I felt bathed in a new light as some cancer patients do. This, I welcomed. And I found myself moved to share my story in words and pictures online. That led to women seeking me out, often as they began to navigate their own journeys.

Many are relatively young, like myself. I was diagnosed at 43, and celebrated my 44th birthday as I began preparing to return to work after surgery. I had taken just over a month off work to recover, and was well enough to go on a short trip to an island near Singapore before slipping back into my office shoes and pencil skirts.

What, I wondered as I dipped my bare feet into the sand, would I experience as a cancer survivor back in the "real world"? You see, I had experienced what I call a "cancer awakening". I felt as though my diagnosis and experience had been a strong call to change my life. And it was all happening quickly.