Sukhi’s Fight to Win Her ‘Sukhi’ Life Back

Sukhi, aged 30, lives in Kazipara, Barishal. She is a housewife and her husband is a tailor master in the village. Sukhi's life was 'sukhi' until she figured that she was experiencing mild fever every now and then.

Coming from a humble background, Sukhi initially didn't pay much heed to the recurring fever, considering it to be just generic random fever. Within six months, Sukhi started feeling irritation on her breast skin. This became alarming when she started feeling pain on her right breast. That's when she went to Barishal Medical College for a check-up.

The doctor suggested a mammogram which clearly showed that Sukhi had a tumour in her right breast. They operated on the tumour and it appeared to have cancerous cells indicating stage one breast cancer.

A devastated Sukhi came back home baffled, wondering how she will manage her family of three children and husband with the illness or whether she will even survive the deadly disease.

Right after finding out about the cancer, Sukhi's middle child fell ill as well. Upon medical examination, it was discovered that Sukhi had an autoimmune thyroid disease which was passed on to her children, making her children's chances of survival very slim. She lost her middle child in this battle.

But Sukhi didn't give up. She continued her treatment.

Cancer treatment is expensive and Sukhi's family was running out of the financial means to support her treatment. In those dark times, one of her relatives took her to Mr. Najmus Ahmed Albab, founder of Bangladesh Cancer Aid Trust (BANCAT), seeking his support.

BANCAT financially assisted Sukhi for a year for her radiotherapy at National Institute of Cancer Research & Hospital (NICRH) and also provided mental support to help her cope with all the unforeseen incidents she was going through.

The cancer cells never came back and today, Sukhi volunteers to raise awareness about breast cancer in her neighbourhood. She believes that every one of us is susceptible to cancer and maintaining a healthy lifestyle and being aware of cancer is the only way to fight it.