Eunice Mwende Mutiso’s fight against cancer is one of courage, resilience, tenacity and most of all, encouraging to fellow survivors in the country.

The beautiful 32-year-old lady was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016. Being the youngest in a family that had no history of cancer, the news came as a shock.

Mwende’s life and that of her family changed drastically, both psychologically and financially. Nonetheless, they weathered through the storm and she was able to undergo a mastectomy (a surgical procedure to remove part or all of a breast) in the same year.

In an exclusive interview with TV47, Mwende says that after the procedure, her oncologists put her on Tamoxifen medication, which is usually prescribed as a pill taken once a day by mouth, for a period of five years.

But just when Mwende’s family thought the dust was about to settle, their lovely daughter got a recurrence/relapse in 2019.

“Unfortunately, I got a recurrence in 2019. At that time the cancer had spread to my lymphoid and one of my lungs. Essentially, that was stage four breast cancer, and I was informed that it was incurable,” an upbeat Mwende says.

Mwende had to start all over again, thank God she had excellent oncologists. “We started managing the cancer so that it doesn’t spread faster. So I did chemotherapy and targeted therapy from 2019 to around 2021/2022.”

Unfortunately, because of the financial burden that comes with cancer treatment, she had to stop active treatment. From March 2022, she was just doing check-ups and scans to see how the malady was behaving.

In 2023 September when a full body positron emission tomography (PET) scan was conducted on her, she had another recurrence. But with the recurrence came another bitter-sweet situation for Mwende — she got pregnant.

She was advised that she had to chose between treatment or keeping the pregnancy.

“When I was in the process of resuming my treatment, I had to stop the treatment because I chose my baby. My baby is 10 weeks at the moment.”

Even as the fight against a recurrent cancer continues for Mwende, she has valuable lessons and experiences to share with other Kenyans in her situation.

Mwende’s invaluable lessons

“When I was diagnosed in 2016 and had a mastectomy, it was really challenging for me. Being a young woman with one breast, I actually did not want anybody to talk about it outside my family. I would get really angry.”

Eventually, during that period Mwende had to battle another ‘cancer’ — depression for a year and half.

“At that time I didn’t know the importance of seeking therapy because this was not pointed out to me when I was being diagnosed. I felt that is one of the things we need to be keen on when we are being diagnosed. I came out of depression and learnt about a different type of beauty not just the physical beauty,” a cheerful Mwende recalls.

According to her, she had come to terms with the fact that she had cancer. However, nothing could have prepared her for the second diagnosis of stage four cancer. It was an even bigger blow for her, because she had just resumed her university education.

“I had to chose between school or sorting treatment. I joined a support group called Kilele Association, which had cancer survivors and caregivers. Through this organization, we were hiking together, coming together and it gave me hope. I have hiked Mt Kenya, Mt Kilimanjaro. Life does not need to end after prognosis.”

Getting a baby

Navigating a cancer diagnosis while you are carrying a child presents unique challenges, which can impact your wellbeing and ability to cope, Mwende says, insisting that women should not lose hope of bearing a child just because they have cancer.

“The option of getting a baby was not in my reach anymore, after my second chemo, I asked about getting children with my oncology and I was told about egg harvesting, the cost of this was beyond me. So having a baby is also a miracle for me. When I got pregnant, we had quite a tough conversation with my oncology, he told me of the pros and cons of pregnancy. I haven’t resumed treatment yet, I am breastfeeding.”

This year, World Cancer Day is themed “United by Unique”, which is a reminder that every cancer journey matters, and that collective action is key to ensuring compassionate, equitable care for all.