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Kebusitswe Mokalane (39) from Chaneng Village near Rustenburg in the North West Province encourages all women to undergo regular Pap smears after she lost her womb, bladder and bowel to cervical cancer.
Kebusitswe was diagnosed with stage three cervical cancer in 2008. She had a hysterectomy after the diagnosis and underwent six weeks of chemotherapy and radiation when the cancer recurred in 2010.
Two bags for body waste
According to the 39 year old cancer survivor, life has changed drastically. She now uses a colostomy bag as her rectum was badly damaged by excessive radiation exposure.
“My life has never been the same. After I completed the treatment, I was operated on and a colostomy bag was implanted because I was unable to go to toilet,” she explained.
Then in 2017 Mokalane’s bladder stopped functioning, and she had to start wearing adult nappies. Now she has been scheduled for a urostomy operation, after which she will have to live with two bags for her body waste.
After experiencing such devastating losses of her normal bodily functions, Mokalane is keen to educate others.
“I am not married. I can’t even get a boyfriend because of my condition. The whole experience affected me negatively. Imagine having to wear a diaper at my age – and even the colostomy bad sometimes bursts in presence of other people and they look at me shocked. It affects my self-esteem,” she explained.
Molokane urged other women to go for regular checks for early cancer detection.
“At first it would bleed, and when I had sex it was very painful. I didn’t know it was cancer, so I went to the doctor. The biopsy was done and the results confirmed it was cancer. Women should check themselves regularly for early detection.” – Health-e News.
Image credit: iStock
