“I literally felt like my world was collapsing,” Jeanne Pangaribuan recounted the moment she was diagnosed with late Stage II breast cancer in 2010.

Within months, the cancer developed into Stage III.

When she first found a lump in her left breast, Jeanne thought it was something usual.  

“I thought that maybe I was going to have my next period, but it was still there even after my period finished, so I went to the doctor and was told I had a cyst,” said Jeanne during the We Heart Pink event at Kitchenette restaurant in Senayan City, South Jakarta, on Sept. 30.

Breast cancer awareness community Pink Shimmerinc held the event to welcome Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October.

We Heart Pink featured a talk show with breast cancer survivors and a painting session by Bartega Studio. The restaurant, Kitchenette, showed its support with Pink Ribbon Macaroons, which will stay on the menu throughout October. The profits will be channeled to Pink Shimmerinc to cover the medical expenses of breast cancer patients.

Breast cancer is a multifactorial disease, which means there is a strong connection between genetics and environmental factors.

Breast cancer, along with cervical cancer, is the most commonly found cancer in Indonesian women, according to the Indonesian Breast Cancer Foundation (YKPI). Breast cancer contributes 21.4 percent of 92,200 cancer deaths in the country, according to data released by the World Health Organization in 2014.

Stories of survivors

At the talk show, Jeanne recounted her struggles in regaining her health. She underwent a mastectomy to remove her whole left breast, followed by chemotherapy.

“Undergoing chemotherapy is a hard thing to do and sometimes we just want to quit, mainly because it damages the good cells and causes hair loss,” she said. “But through the process, we learn how to accept and go through with it, so in the end, we can be at peace with ourselves and the disease.”

Jeanne joined Pink Shimmerinc after meeting the community’s founder Dinda Nawangwulan during chemotherapy.

Dinda, who works in an advertising agency, felt that her unhealthy lifestyle — like a poor diet, smoking and stress — might have caused her cancer. Now, she remembers to treat her body well. 

“It’s like my mindset had been ‘switched’. I feel that my body needs to be treated well, so when it shows signs of fatigue, I need to obey my body and rest,” she said.

Imelda Theresia, who was diagnosed with Stage II breast cancer in 2016, said Pink Shimmerinc had provided her great support during her healing process.

“When we share our stories with each other, we know that we are not alone,” said the mother of one.

Detecting lumps

According to Nia Novianti Siregar, a doctor with Jakarta’s Dharmais Cancer Hospital, early symptoms of breast cancer might not cause any pain but they are visible.

“Most early symptoms start with a lump, but they can also be revealed through the changing color of your breasts or a change in texture — like the skin of an orange. Other symptoms include blood, fluid or pus coming out of the breast when squeezed,” she explained.

Nia encouraged women to have regular breast checkups, also known as periksa payudara sendiri (SADARI, breast self-examinations).

“It is done by lifting one arm and using three fingers of the other hand to slowly make a circling motion from the armpit until the nipple area to check if any fluid is coming out,” Nia said.

— The writer is an intern at The Jakarta Post

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