Dr. Noormahal Kabani, an intensive care physician, was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2012 during a routine mammogram. She recalls receiving a call from her gynecologist instead of a nurse and being recommended to have a biopsy performed.
“In a moment, I went from intensive care physician to a cancer patient,” recalls Noormahal. She remembers weighing her options before making important decisions pertaining to her treatment. “I needed to take this thing head-on and fight it off,” recalls Noormahal of her decision to begin treatment.
Noormahal shares that it was beneficial for her to speak openly about her cancer while she was going through her treatment and chemotherapy sessions. “The more people I spoke with, the more I realized how common this is.”
“The support I received from my husband was incredible,” says Noormahal when explaining the importance of men supporting the women in their lives during their fight with cancer. It is also very important to have good doctors. she explains. “There is a lot of information from the cancer society,” Noormahal advises. “It is important to make the best decision one can when choosing a doctor, and getting more than one opinion.”
In a showing of courage and strength, Noormahal participated in the Race for the Cure event one month after her recovery. The hospital she worked for, Baptist Hospital, in Little Rock, Arkansas, participated in the event and named their team “Team Kabani.”
Shams Soomar remembers it was Memorial Day in 2015 when his daughter, who is a registered nurse, spoke with his doctor after a biopsy in response to a painful lump in his neck. “Everyone broke down in tears,” Shams recalls when they learned of the diagnosis.
Though the ensuing months were admittedly difficult with 30 days of radiation and chemotherapy, Shams was advised by his doctor that he would survive. “I’m supportive of cancer patients now because I understand the emotional trauma that is endured,” he says. “You can’t explain it, but cancer survivors understand each other’s pain. I will understand what they are going through.”
Shams laughs when asked where he found his strength to overcome his fight with cancer. “You have to rely on your family. My wife and two daughters were there for me, and next to me at every therapy session,” he recalls.
Razia Ratansi, a single mother with two adult children, had left her job at UCLA and recently moved to Washington when she noticed changes in her digestive system in 2014. Her initial visit to the doctor first determined the pain to be a result of a viral infection.
Later in the year, Razia noticed a small pimple on her breast. She described it as extremely painful and feeling as if her “breast was on fire,” though she had an incredible tolerance for pain. Her family history of breast cancer alerted Razia this may be serious. As an ultrasound technician herself, she was scheduled for an ultrasound and recognized what was to come. “I looked at the ultrasound and thought to myself – ‘I’m done.’” Razia’s biopsy revealed she had stage 2 cancer.
Three weeks after her surgery, she was advised she was very fortunate that the cancer had been contained. Had she waited much longer to see a doctor, it would have become aggressive and progressed to stage 3 and much more difficult to fight, according to Razia’s doctor.
“I had almost lost faith. I asked God why is this happening to me,” recalls Razia. She remembers the support she received from her children, from her friend who let her stay in her apartment when she had to give up her own apartment, and from Evergreen Hospital in Kirkland, Washington. “I received donations and other offerings while at the hospital, and received grants from organizations.” “I feel God had been testing me. He showed me even if you go through the worst thing, you will come out of it.”
Early detection, a positive outlook, courage, and faith—all seem to play a part in fighting this scourge, and these survivors are an example to others.
