By: Shane Marks
Laughing, smiling, positive thinking are the things that keep a 35-year-old mother of three, Alicia Sugrim, motivated as she battles life-threatening stage three breast cancer.
Born and raised in Patentia, West Bank Demerara (WBD), Sugrim lived a quiet life as a housewife, caring for her children and husband. With the unforeseen circumstance of her life being shifted and her fortunes reversed, it is now up to her children and husband to care for her as the disease dominates her life.
On August 14, 2021, Sugrim received her diagnosis, after much concern was raised by her husband following her discovery of a lump in her breast, which had prompted her to do a check-up. On September 9, 2021, she underwent a mastectomy that successfully ended with the removal of her right breast.
Now, months later, Sugrim is recovering from her surgery and undergoing chemotherapy to combat any lingering mass in her breast.
This has not been easy for her, but with her fiery spirit, she soldiers on to beat cancer. Her life has not been the same ever since she was diagnosed with stage three breast cancer. The untimely, heartbreaking revelation has caused her to become a watered-down version of the person she once was.
Before the diagnosis, she was active and vibrant. Now, some mornings she needs help getting out of bed. But this mother and wife fights for her family, especially her children, who are the biggest support system in her life.
“I have a tremendous support system in terms of family, close relatives, friends, even strangers. I have a great amount of support from people, and I’m thankful for that, because without that I don’t know what I would’ve done,” she has said.
Alicia keeps her fire burning because she doesn’t want her children to grow up without the love and care of a mother. She related, “One of my main motivations is my kids. I look at them and I do it for them, because life without a mother is just scary. I’m not afraid of what would happen to me, I’m afraid of what would happen to them if something should happen to me.”
However, even with her massive support system, life has not been easy for this fighter. Her biggest struggle, she has said, is her chemotherapy treatment, which she admitted to not having the courage to do sometimes, thus causing her to start losing sight of the reason for doing it at all.
“I have the chemotherapy process, which is one of the darkest phases I’ve faced so far,” Alicia has said.
Alicia receives chemotherapy every third Tuesday of every month, and she dreads the process completely because, after every treatment, she doesn’t feel like herself.
Chemotherapy makes her feel nauseous and depleted of the need to consume any food, because of the profuse vomiting that follows. The aftermath of her chemotherapy treatment renders her weak and in bed for days, leaving her family members to care for her in a state she wishes they didn’t behold.
“Every time I have to go and do chemotherapy, I sit and I cry. In the mornings, I would sit and tell my husband, ‘I don’t want to go’, but I don’t have a choice. It’s something we have to do if we wanna survive; if we want to beat cancer. But doing it is literally hell; it’s hell,” Alicia said in her interview with this publication.
What seems more heartbreaking to Alicia is the departure of the people who were once in her life before her diagnosis; they are no longer there after the fact.
“Some persons who were there prior to me being sick are not there now… Some people treat (you) as though you are fragile, like you’re going to break at any point; and as a cancer patient, you don’t need that, you need motivation, you need encouragement, you need a little bit of upliftment,” Alicia heartbrokenly admitted.
It’s sad that some persons are equipped with the will to leave someone when they’re at their lowest, but, like the old saying goes, “out with the old and in with the new,” because Alicia’s life has quickly been filled with people who are ready to support her during this tough time.
Happily pivoting, Alicia has stated, “I’ve had persons – a lot of persons – who have been there, reached out to me. They give me positive words of advice, give me some type of motivational quote or something.” To those persons Alicia is forever grateful.
Though terrified of what the future may hold, Alicia keeps on fighting.
“I’m terrified actually. I am terrified because the nature of my cancer is I don’t know what is causing it. I don’t know where I stand, as in later if it would come back. It can come back, in my case. So, I’m terrified of the fact to know that I’m going through all of these treatments and then only to find out, like three years along the line, cancer comes back, attack me. I’m hopeful, I’m praying, I’m being positive all the time that ‘no, I’m okay. I’m going to be okay.’ but you can’t deny that that’s behind [in her mind], that’s always there. That fear would always be there,” she suddenly revealed.
Alicia’s advice to her fellow cancer fighters is to stay positive, be hopeful; and with this, she believes that they can overcome cancer, just as she is going to.
And so, avid readers, today, as we observe World Cancer Awareness Day, let’s all keep persons like Alicia in our hearts and in our prayers. Let’s be safe rather than sorry, and get screened. For our cancer combatants, I leave with you this Marivel Preciado quote, “Giving in to the darkness offers no benefit”.
