When Farzana Ahsan was diagnosed with breast cancer, she and her family’s world came crashing down. Yet, they learned to accept the diagnosis and take the disease head-on. People less accepting were those around her; be it neighbors, friends or mere acquaintances.
“It is 100% curable, but there is need to initiate an extensive drive against the stigma attached to the disease,” she says, now having battled with a killer and won.
“My husband, although not educated, is a caring and responsible person,” she says, recalling the time when doctors diagnosed her with the condition. “He immediately took me to Shaukat Khanum Hospital where the doctors treated me.”
She adds that when family members and the neighbors heard about her disease, most of them distanced themselves. “It remains a stigma for them,” Farzana adds that even her elder daughters had to leave their education due to the financial hit caused by the fight with breast cancer.
