Road to recovery from cancer
Chemla was vomiting all the time, she lost her hair and her finger nails became brittle
Dubai: When 44-year-old Brigitte Chemla was diagnosed with breast cancer two years ago she had no time to feel scared as things happened very fast after that.
Between October, when she found out she had cancer, and December of 2007, she underwent three surgeries, one of which was to try and remove the tumour to save her breast. The second surgery was to see if the tumour had spread and then finally, a mastectomy, the surgical removal of her breast.
Asked if she knew about yearly check-ups and self-examination, Brigitte said yearly mammograms are the norm in France. But she said she was very busy initially setting up a health insurance office in Dubai for the first two years since coming here that she forgot about it. That is when the cancer cells infiltrated her body.
"Your life turns upside down. There is no time to think. The only thing I knew was that I had to survive," said the French national. She refused to go back to France to get herself treated, saying that she had a wonderful doctor here.
She said the other "awful thing" she had to deal with was chemotherapy in January of 2008, where drugs were pumped into her body to kill the cancerous cells. But the side effects are terrible.
Brigitte was vomiting all the time. She lost her hair and her finger nails became brittle. She underwent this treatment every three weeks.
The executive of a health insurance company said she finally ‘completely broke down', when her mind realised what she was going through. The divorcee had to deal with it alone. Finally, in January this year, Brigitte was done with hospitals, except for the check-ups and hormonal therapy.
Brigitte says she is grateful for her company's support.
