KUALA LUMPUR: Former radio deejay and TV host Dr Kartini Kamalul Ariffin, 46, once blamed her mother for her cancer diagnosis.
"I felt angry with my mother. Because she had cancer, I got it too. I felt very negative and sad. If I died, who would take care of my children?"
Kartini said when she found out that she had Stage One cancer, she struggled to accept it.
"I underwent a health screening when I was 40 years old in 2022. The mammogram results were satisfactory and showed no signs of cancer.
"Less than a year later, in February 2023, I noticed a lump in my left breast while showering.
"I didn't wait long and went for a check-up at the hospital. After a biopsy, I found out I had Stage One cancer with a two-centimetre lump," she said during a session at the Breast Cancer Awareness Week organised by the Oncology and Radiotherapy Department at Hospital Canselor Tuanku Muhriz (HCTM).
The Stage One breast cancer fighter said it took her a long time to accept God's will with grace.
Initially, she isolated herself as she came to terms with her condition.
"I began to question why this illness happened to me. My shock turned into anger, and I felt inadequate.
"I found it strange because I led a healthy lifestyle. But my mother was also a former Stage Two breast cancer patient who is now cancer-free after treatment.
"The doctor inquired about my family history, but I hesitated to share it," she said.
Kartini later realised that family history contributes to the risk of developing breast cancer, and she felt very angry with her mother for having had cancer.
"I felt angry. However, I knew I couldn't stay in that phase for too long. I realised that not everything is within our control.
"I decided to rise again because my time on earth isn't over. I couldn't imagine how my children would grow up without a mother and how my husband would manage the family without me," she said.
Kartini also viewed her experience as a blessing, as she completed her thesis and graduated with a PhD in Communication.
"Initially, I put my PhD thesis aside to focus on treatment.
"But after the surgery, I felt a new spirit while recuperating. I completed my thesis while undergoing scheduled radiotherapy," she said.
According to Kartini, it has been a year since she became a cancer fighter.
While she has not been declared cancer-free, she is now using social media to share her journey.
"My husband and children provide positive support. My husband has accepted it well. He also supports me with the kids. Every weekend, I take my children to the hospital with me.
"It has become a family routine. While other families go shopping on weekends, ours goes to the hospital," she said.