When two cancers strike: Betrayed and fighting rare condition, young lawyer finds a new lease of life

Cheryl Omire was only 30 years old when life threw her curve balls. Hers is not only a story of pain but of fighting, and survival.

“Last July, I was diagnosed with two cancers; of the breast and cervix. I was told having two cancers is rare,” she says.

Hinging her hope of having seen her father overcoming a life-threatening illness and now living a happy life at 63, she decided to take the diagnosis head-on.

“My family fundraised about Sh10 million and I went to India for treatment,” she says.

But asking for help was not easy. For some people, a request for help may feel like a sign of weakness or inadequacy.

“I struggle with asking for assistance, so when my family decided to ask for help, I was embarrassed and felt sad. My photo was all over and not because I am a good lawyer, or because I'd done something great, but because I needed help. That was a humbling moment for me,” says Cheryl.

Money aside, she faced another hurdle. It was an electioneering period and she was scared that if violence erupted as was the case in the 2007 General Elections, her plans would be halted.

But the elections went on well.

Having two cancers comes with double burdens. Heavy bleeding, two surgeries, and multiple treatments targeting different body organs.

“For instance, just before travelling to India, I started bleeding heavily and I had to be admitted to Aga Khan Hospital for a few days. I remember when I finally boarded the plane to India, I prayed that I would make it to my destination without any trouble,” she says.

While in India, the hospital took two days to run the tests and give her a month's treatment plan.

“I was to undergo surgeries of the breast and cervix, do radiotherapy, and hormonal therapy. On September 1, I did two major surgeries; one on my breast, and armpit area, and another on my abdomen. I had a pipe from my stomach and another wound on my armpit where they had removed affected lymph nodes,” she says.

Although she was aware of the effects the treatments could have on her body, she was not prepared for having to rely on her sister for everything, from eating to bathing.

“As if the pain I was going through was not enough, my breast area developed complications after surgery, it was swollen, and fluid had accumulated. Every single day for one month I had to go get the fluid drained and the wound dressed. I had to wait for the wounds to heal before starting the next phase of treatment,” she says.

A cancer diagnosis causes complex feelings. A majority of patients want to be close to their loved ones. So when Cheryl found out about the diagnosis, she shared the news with her partner.

“He was my closest friend, my confidant, and my haven. He was the first person I told that I had felt a lump on my breast. I also told him when the test results showed cancer. He promised to support me through the process. So I knew I had to fight this monster and come back to our beautiful plans with my partner,” she says.

Cheryl’s friend once mentioned that a majority of men abandon their partners when they get sick, going by random conversations and studies. But Cheryl brushed off the thought of ever being neglected at her lowest moment.

“He lived in Atlanta, US and he had planned to be in Kenya around the same time when I got sick,” she says, “but when I was leaving for India, he assured me he would come and stay with me in India for a month.”

A month after the surgery, her wounds were healed enough for her next phase of treatment, which was radiotherapy.

It is also at this point that she was informed they did not think she would need chemotherapy, the one treatment she dreaded the most.

“My greatest fear was losing my hair due to chemo. So I did 25 sessions of radiotherapy for the cervix and 8 sessions for the breast,” she says.

Radiotherapy, she says, is painless but it comes with harsh side effects such as extreme fatigue, nausea, and loss of appetite. Radiotherapy in the cervix also carries a risk of infertility.

“I would throw up all the time and as radio[therapy] is draining, it requires you to eat and drink lots of fluids. My stomach couldn't keep anything down. Everything tasted like metal. I was constipated all the time.

My urine became too acidic and it burned. I had been so strong throughout the process but at this point, I started getting so angry,” she says.

Cheryl questioned God a lot, struggling to understand why at her age she was going through so much.

“It was traumatising for me being the youngest woman in most of the cancer treatment rooms full of older women; women who had lived their lives, gotten married, and had children.

I had none of those and I felt like God was so unfair. I remember there was a time I stopped talking to everyone for days. Not even my mother who was my caregiver at the time,” she says.

But her partner joining her in India brought some semblance of joy.

“In late October, he suddenly got busy. He didn’t have time to check on me or support me, not even with the medical bills. Someone I had been speaking to every day of my life and whom we were planning to do life with was suddenly unavailable,” she says.

“I was so consumed and distracted by what was happening with my relationship that I forgot that I had cancer. While my family was worried about the disease, I was stressed about my relationship and how our plans were falling apart before my eyes.”

One afternoon, as Cherly queued for her radiotherapy session, she got a call. Her partner had been cheating.

“I called my mother, wailing. Everyone was staring at me, but I felt like I had nothing to live for at this point. I was hurt, betrayed, and broken.

I still remember the painful sight of my mother picking me up from the floor. While on the radiotherapy machine, I cried throughout the session. Here I was, fighting for my life and dealing with a heartbreak.”

One evening after her radiotherapy, her mother got sick and Cheryl, despite being fatigued from cancer, gathered up the little strength she had in her and left their apartment to buy her medicine.

“This night I knew I had it in me to do it. I knew my mother needed me and this gave me strength. I shifted my focus to getting well and coming home to my family.

After that I started walking every day until I finished all my 25 sessions of radiotherapy,” she says.

“I told God I still had the church to serve and gifts that I needed time to use. I am a good singer, I am a good actor and I like style and fashion. I pictured myself on big platforms and TV screens and that kept me going.”

After radiotherapy, she had one more procedure called brachytherapy, a treatment that uses radiation to destroy cancer cells in the cervix.

“This procedure was uncomfortable, but I had come so far to give up. At this point, I had been in India for four months,” she says.

After treatment, she was cleared to come home and is required to travel to India every three months for a review.

“This experience has left me feeling like a different person. My body is no longer the same as some affected parts were cut out. My thinking and view of life have completely shifted and I have a new appreciation for the small things like just being able to walk around.

I am more intentional about things. I have a new lease of life and I am deliberate about doing things that make me happy. I have a new appreciation for family and friends who have been my greatest support system,” she says.

Her priorities have changed and Cheryl no longer lives like she has all the time in the world.

“I am actively trying to get back to acting and music. I am also a very good speaker and I am trying to do something about it. An ideal life for me right now would probably be in different movies, shows, and doing music.”

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