For many young women, breast cancer is a distant thought. For Rimona Mifsud Cristiano the subject is much closer to home. The 42-year-old single mother-of-two is battling with breast cancer for the third time. She speaks to Neil Camilleri about her twelve-year battle.

"I was thirty when I was first diagnosed. My daughters were one and two at the time. Six months earlier I had been breastfeeding and I thought the lump had something to do with breast milk. There was no pain or discomfort. I discovered it somewhat by accident. When I was diagnosed a month later I could not believe my ears. 30-year-old women should not get breast cancer."

This was 2002. The 30-year-old mother was dumbfounded and her first thoughts were of her two baby girls, and her mother and father. "Two questions immediately popped into my mind. Who will take of my daughters? And how could I tell my parents that I had something that could potentially kill me?"

Rimona had discovered the cancer early on and had it treated. She underwent radiotherapy, had the lump and some lymph nodes removed and was given a five-year pill prescription.

A double mastectomy

"After surgery and treatment everything was clear. It was all fine for the next five years and I did regular check-ups. Everything was fine. Doctors told me it was next to impossible to get cancer again. Then, six years after my first diagnosis I felt another lump. The cancer had returned in the exact same spot."

The second time round the treatment was a bit more drastic. Besides having the lump removed, Rimona also had  a bilateral subcutaneous mastectomy - meaning she had both her breasts removed and had implants put in. "I had the same thing as Angelina Jolie, only five years earlier," says Rimona, smiling. "The difference is that I did not have my breasts removed because of a high chance of getting cancer, I did have cancer." The procedure was a difficult one, on two different levels. "It was painful and it took me a full two months to recover. It also had its psychological effects. It is definitely not easy for a thirty something woman to lose her breasts. It makes you feel different. For some time I would ask myself if people noticed, if they were wondering why I looked different. Eventually I grew out of it."

 

Doctors astonished when cancer returned for the third time

Regular tests and check-ups during the next four-and-a-half years came back clear, but as luck would have it the cancer was to return for a third time, in 2013.

"Doctors were astonished. They could not believe that I had cancer again, even after I had the mastectomy." The current form of cancer Rimona has now is Herceptin positive, which may be a more aggressive form.   She underwent six chemotherapy sessions between December and March, which at times left her tired and weak. "I usually felt fine but I remember this one occasion when I was driving and, one block away from home I felt as if I had been hit by a lorry. My daughters had to help me climb the eight steps leading to our house."

'I cried all the way home'

The chemotherapy also resulted in her hair falling out. "I used to wear a wig to work but everyone there was so very supportive. My boss used to urge me to take it off. And my daughters would tell me that I looked beautiful."

Other occasions, however, were more painful. "After I had ditched the wig I started wearing scarves. One day, as I was walking home from work, I saw two girls looking at me and one of them sniggered. I might have looked a bit unusual since it was quite hot to be wearing a scarf, but that snigger destroyed me. I ran to the car park, crying all the way." On another occasion, Rimona was approached by a man in the street. He asked her whether she was undergoing treatment. When she told him that she was, he burst into tears. After calming down he told her that he had cancer too. "It was a sort of relief for him to share what he was going through with someone who really understood him."

Rimona, by now smiling again, jokes that her hair has since started growing back. "At least short hair is fashionable now," she jokes.

'My girls are my reason to keep fighting'

The chemotherapy is being followed up by seventeen sessions of Herceptin therapy. "Herceptin treatment is easier. It does take half a day each time but I just take my laptop with me and work from the clinic." Her bosses at the property advertising company where she works in the accounts department are very understanding and supportive. "Sometimes I even work from home."

Her daughters are the reason to keep fighting. "My girls are the reason I want to live. They give me the energy to get out of bed each morning and live life to the full. When I was first diagnosed I just prayed God to let me live until they received their First Holy Communion. Then it was their Holy Confirmation. Now I want to see them grow up and have their own children."

Her parents are her rock. "I do not know what I would do without them. They helped me so much with everything I needed and they supported me throughout. The same goes for my relatives and friends. We are very close-knit family and have become even stronger through this experience."

'I am still here. I want to live.'

Rimona says, while she has moments of fear and doubt she has faith that she will surpass even this third obstacle in life. "I have been diagnosed three times but I am still here. I want to live. Who would not want that. If I can do it then everyone can."

Despite the difficult times she went through and is still going through, Rimona lives a very active life. In fact, more active than most of us. She has a full-time job, takes care of her teenage daughters, goes to the gym while they attend private lessons and also goes for walks. She is also in the final stages of her ACCA course to become an accountant. "I choose not to let what I am going through drag me down. You can let the waves drag you out to sea or you can fight back. I choose to fight and I urge all other cancer patients to do the same."

 

A firm believer in cancer research

Ms Mifsud Cristiano is an active member of the Alive Charity Foundation, which raises funds for cancer research. "I wholeheartedly believe in research. I have seen huge progress in cancer prevention and care throughout the past twelve years. When I was first diagnosed there was no breast screening programme. Some of the treatment available today did not exist at the time. Today I have a Herceptin positive cancer. If I had that twelve years ago there would have been no treatment for me."

Rimona praised the level of treatment offered by the government today, noting that Herceptin treatment can run into thousands of euro. The breast screening programme, introduced a few years back, has also been a very positive development. Usually, middle-aged women are called up for tests, but younger women should also be vigilant, she warns.

"I am only 42 and I have been diagnosed three times. Self-examinations helped me get early treatment. I urge all women to do self-examinations. This is not a laughing matter. Every woman should learn to recognise any changes in her body."