‘I have one breast but I am not ashamed’ - Cop who beat cancer encourages others to share their stories

After putting up a draining but successful battle against breast cancer, District Constable Rowena Prendegast is encouraging other survivors to share their story as a motivation for others.

The 50-year-old mother of three, who is stationed at the Belfield Police Station in St Mary, said that although she underwent a mastectomy and currently has only one breast, she is never ashamed to tell others of her journey.

"I wasn't going to feel sorry for myself so I kept on moving. I am encouraging everyone going through a cancer battle to get up and fight back. Do not distance yourself from others, and remember that cancer is not something that you buy, it just come. Many persons don't want to talk about it, but you have to talk about cancer and share your experience," she said.

"Tell someone what you are going through or have been through so you can motivate others. Just don't sit and hide it, be someone's motivation. I am not ashamed of cancer. I have one breast but I am not ashamed. It is not a death sentence," she added.

Prendegast said she lived a normal life up until early 2020 when she felt a lump in her left breast.

"I was laying on my bed and I just run my hand across my breast and I felt a huge lump. Honestly, cancer was not in my mind although I didn't do a mammogram often. There is also no history of cancer in my family. I didn't think much of it but I went to the doctor the following day," she said.

Among the tests that Prendegast did was a needle biopsy, but the result was inconclusive. She then did a minor surgery in which the lump was removed and sent for testing. Prendegast said when she got the results a few months later she wept uncontrollably.

"I cried so hard. One of my co-workers, Sergeant Latoya Marshall Brown, and my adopted sister, Dora McCormack, came with me to the doctor and I broke down and they told me that we were all in this together. I just couldn't believe I had cancer, stage 3 cancer," she said. Further checks revealed that the cancer was spreading and Prendegast said that was the last news she wanted to hear.

"I went to Andrews Memorial Hospital and it was there that I found out that the cancer was spreading to my left arm. All during that time, I still felt very normal. I wasn't feeling any pain or discomfort. I was going about my business like everything was normal until chemotherapy," she said.

She endured 16 chemotherapy sessions, calling them rigorous and agonising.

"It was six long months and it was a very rough journey. I remember one day I just put my hand in my hair and it [the hair] came off in my hand. I cried really hard when I saw that. That was when reality kicked in that I had cancer. My tongue and fingernails got black and my body got black. It was a rough road," she said.

On February 23, 2022, as Prendegast and her co-worker headed into Kingston to be admitted for surgery the following day, they met in a serious accident. But this did not prevent the procedure as she said she went into the operating room with her legs and arms covered in bandage and underwent surgery at Andrews. Months later, additional tests revealed that she was cancer free. A few months later, Prendegast started radiotherapy sessions. She credits her loved ones and her work colleagues for their immense support.

"You just need to have friends and families in you corner. You cannot face this alone as it's a rough road. It was rough financially and emotionally. It was very expensive as I did everything the private way because it was a race against time for me. I paid for everything cash, but to be honest, my family and friends carried me through," she said.

Prendegast, who has been serving the Jamaica Constabulary Force for the past 20 years, remains cancer free and resumed her duties in Belfield last November.