Five years ago, Paola learned that she had stage 3 breast cancer. At 23, she was told that she had metastatic. This means that the metastases have spread to other organs. Today, Paola continues to fight the disease with a thirst for life and admirable courage.
My name is Paola, I am 25 years old and for 5 years I have been fighting against breast cancer, which has become metastatic. Patients and their families need hope more than ever to lead this fight by having other benchmarks than the numbers and sometimes nasty forecasts.
The announcement of the disease
When you hear about cancer, it’s always a shock. Death is the first thing I imagined, psychological trauma. I experienced a flurry of bad news, a much needed break, social isolation, a loathing to watch myself in the mirror in times of intense fatigue, and a feeling that the world moved on as I watched around me with incapacity. This leaves a lifelong imprint. We undergo the events and the course of the disease. However, this time has shaped who I am, strong, full of dreams and hope, for whom nothing is impossible.
Live in the moment
After various operations, three radiotherapies and ten different treatments, today I continue my struggle. Who would have believed it ? My scattered metastases have totally disappeared for over a year. There are only a few tiny lesions left in the liver. Treatments for metastatic cancer are currently lifelong. That’s why I don’t project myself very far, I just live! I have traveled a lot and met new people, sharing and exchanges make me vibrate. This year I joined a clinical trial. This involves testing and studying a drug that is not yet on the market in eligible patients. Some days were dark, others were like a dream.
Cancer so young
At this age, all our projects and our relationships are called into question. I feel my difference with the twenties but I get along just as well with the young as with the older ones. Falling hair, eyelashes, eyebrows and fluctuations in weight are very hard to come to terms with, but I have learned to look good and love myself. I feel feminine despite all the damage from the drugs. Professionally speaking, I have decided to embark on several projects that are close to my heart. I continue my treatments while managing my own business, doing prevention through videos on my Instagram account and I am involved in associations that affect me.
Always keep hope
To keep hope alive, I have several tips. It is not always easy and obvious to apply, but it is essential.
- Keeping the faith, the most powerful weapon. That’s what saved me. Whether it is religion or trusting something.
- Eliminate negative thoughts and tell yourself you will be okay. The mind actually heals the body.
- Laugh to heal! Abuse it so that it becomes automatic because it is good for morale but also for health. With me it’s been innate since I was little, I remember breaking my arm and I laughed.
- Remember that medicine is making progress every day to come up with new drugs and clinical trials. In institute laboratories, for example, teams work relentlessly from morning to night.
- Above all, do not rely on statistics. Even though there is only one healing case, I don’t take it as an exception, I cling to it and tell myself that nothing is impossible for one who believes. Note that even with cancerous metastases throughout the body, some survived so why not you!
- Surround yourself with the right people who pull us up. Those around me play a crucial part in my daily life and constantly remind me that to live without hope is to stop living.
- Set small achievable goals to feel more useful and build a path to the next day.
- Choose your oncologist even if it means changing several. The right one will be the one who reassures you, always gives hope and who believes in you and in the effectiveness of the treatment.
Believe in miracles
When everything seems to be going against you, remember that the plane takes off against the wind, not with it. You will understand that hope is the essence of life, it is even contagious. Don’t wait any longer to do what you love, your life is yours. Believe in miracles, take care of yourself, read positive articles and testimonials.
You can follow Paola Ghanem on her Instagram account: @paolamghanem