AFTER beating cancer not once, but twice, feminist and human rights activist Shamima Ali believes that women must pay attention to their health.
Ms Ali was diagnosed with colon cancer in 2008, a type of cancer that develops from the colon or rectum (parts of the large intestine) and after undergoing treatment, she was later advised in 2010 that she had lung cancer.
Ms Ali said she called herself lucky because both cancers were discovered in its early stages and she was able to undergo treatment and recover fully.
“It’s been more than 10 years now and I was lucky that I was able to go through the treatment and this was possible because I had a healthy insurance policy,” Ms Ali said.
“I believe that most women, particularly underprivileged women tend to ignore their health because they are always putting the needs of their families first.
“This should not be the case because women play a vital role in their families and they must be made aware that materials are available and that they must always go for health check-ups.”
Ms Ali said she now engaged herself in healthy physical activities and also working to ensure that she ate the healthy and right food.
“We can avoid a lot of deaths if we encourage and educate our woman and our people the importance of going to the hospital to get regular check-ups because it is effective.
“Sicknesses are detected and treated quickly which in turn leads to recovery,” she added.
