Doriette and Silvana both faced the same choice – to pity themselves or live whatever was left of their lives smiling.
And the two breast cancer survivors chose the latter.
“When I was given the news I had two options: either cry over my fate or get back on my feet and move forward.
“I decided that whether I had six months, one or 10 years left, I was going to make the best of it. It didn’t matter where I was going, I just needed to get there laughing.
“There will be bad times, but these too will pass,” Doriette Darmanin, 50, told Times of Malta yesterday just before setting off on a walk organised by Europa Donna Malta to raise awareness about the importance of breast screening. October is Breast Cancer Awareness month.
It didn’t matter where I was going, I just needed to get there laughing
More than 150 people joined the walk from Valletta to Sliema carrying silhouettes – pink for those who have or know of someone with breast cancer, white for those who lost somebody and blue for men who have breast cancer.
Over the past year, around 350 new cases of breast cancer were registered at Mater Dei alone.
Ms Darmanin is one of this year’s survivors. In 2012 she had a common spot that she treated with ointment, but when the pimple returned the following year the ointment and antibiotics proved useless.
Last January she felt a lump under one of her arms and her family doctor suggested she speak to a surgeon.
On her 50th birthday in February she was told she might have a tumour.
Two weeks later she was informed she had breast cancer at stage two and had to do a partial mastectomy. But following more tests she was advised to do a full one as she had cancer in both breasts.
“When I started chemotherapy I was traumatised to a point where I was more focused on saving my hair than my life.
“My body went through a lot of changes – I lost my hair, eyebrows, and toenails and also put on weight. But today I would urge others in a similar situation not to think about it twice – chemotherapy is a large part of the recovery.”
With her hair growing back, Ms Darmanin is now looking forward to reconstructive surgery.
Meanwhile, 35-year-old Silvana Mifsud is waiting for her second mastectomy after she had one done last year. Although she found a lump when she was 32, it was only following the fourth ultrasound that she had more tests, a biopsy and a mammogram.
When she spoke to a friend who had gone through a similar battle and yet remained positive, Ms Mifsud felt prepared to take the diagnosis as another life challenge. Both Ms Darmanin and Ms Mifsud believe that the support they were given by their relatives, friends and colleagues have encouraged them to move on and forming part of Europa Donna helped them come to terms with the diagnosis.
“Although every case is different, no one can give you as much hope as someone who has gone through it,” Ms Darmanin said.
Ms Mifsud, a mother of an 11-year-old girl, admitted that, following the shock that came with the diagnosis, the mastectomy was another one.
“But knowing about the reconstruction surgery helped me move on, and I kept saying to myself that this is only temporary.
“I had two options when I was diagnosed – either to pity myself or to keep myself motivated. I’m not saying I don’t have bad days – sometimes I feel like a 100-year-old woman – but I make an effort to snap back and move on.”
Doriette’s and Silvana’s tips
• Break the news to your children in their own language.
• Surround yourself with friends and family.
• Speak to survivors.
• Forget the past and look forward.
• Try to gain back your independence slowly.
• Don’t plan too far ahead, but day by day or at most, month by month.