Cancer robs 27-y-o of her breasts - But woman enjoying life after double mastectomy

During her rigourous fight with breast cancer, Deon Smith, 29, questioned the Almighty and sought answers to why her cross was so heavy.

Smith was 27 when she was diagnosed with Stage 3 breast cancer. She said she lived a fairly healthy life but, in May 2021, she noticed her legs becoming swollen. Thinking she was having kidney issues, Smith sought medical attention. Her doctor, however, was more concerned about the lump in her right breast and suggested further examinations.

Smith was not perturbed as she had noticed the lump five years prior but it was not causing any discomfort. With no known history of breast cancer in her family, and being young, cancer was not in her thoughts. Her doctor, however, wanted to make sure.

"I did a blood test and an ultrasound because I was just too young to do a mammogram. I also did a biopsy and a lumpectomy, but still cancer wasn't near my mind. To be honest, I forget about it until I got a call to visit the doctor's office. I was told that I had breast cancer and that news shattered me," Smith recalled. She sought comfort from her mother but she fainted upon hearing the news.

"It was just pure chaos and I was in disbelief," Smith said.

The enormity of her problems grew as the cancer spread from one breast to the other, as well as other regions of her chest. Smith said that she was told that 16 chemotherapy sessions and a double mastectomy would be required for her to beat breast cancer. Her world was now in turmoil and naysayers did not help.

"There were some people who tell mi that I was just too young to have cancer and that I wasn't sick, and that the doctors were lying and just wanted money," she recalled.

She managed to block out those voices but the thought of losing her breasts at such a young age rested heavily on her mind.

"I was just 27 years old, how could I remove my breast? Things was just becoming real," Smith said.

Her fears heightened when she contracted COVID-19 - a disease which is particularly merciless on vulnerable persons - and was alone at home in quarantine.

"I remember just asking God that, if He was ready to take my life, He should just make a way possible for my child. I, however, managed to pull through," she said.

Smith underwent a double mastectomy surgery at the St Ann's Bay Hospital in July 2022. She also had 15 arduous sessions of radiotherapy treatment, which she completed in May. But losing her breasts shook her to the core.

"When I woke up and realised that my breasts were not there, I just started crying. I was just seeing a bandage. It was just unbelievable and I was just asking God, 'Why you put me through all of this?'. I was feeling a lot of pain and it was just horrible. But, I kept telling myself that this was just a part of my journey and that I was strong. My partner was very supportive, and still is," she said.

Now, two years later, the security guard is cancer-free and is using her testimony to motivate others.

"Every time I look at my scars, I feel empowered. I have a lot to be thankful for. There are no traces of cancer in my system and I am back at work and feeling like my old self," Smith said. "I want to let others who are affected by cancer to let them know that the survival rate is good when detected early. The journey is very hard and you are going to be at your lowest, and you are going to want to give up, but fight on. Your life is not over."