EARLY detection gave Mereoni Susau a second chance at life.
The 39-year-old breast cancer survivor could have ignored a lump in her breast, but instead chose to have it checked.
Diagnosed with stage two breast cancer in 2024, Ms Susau underwent a mastectomy in December that year. She said early detection had played a crucial role in her recovery.
This week, she urged women to turn Pinktober awareness into action by seeking medical advice early, stressing that cancer does not discriminate based on age, race or gender.
A nurse by profession, Ms Susau said she discovered a lump in her right breast, prompting her to seek medical attention.
“It’s been going on for two years now that I’m cancer-free, and I attribute that to the early screening that was done when I found the lump back in 2024,” she said.
Despite her experience treating and managing cancer patients, Ms Susau said her own diagnosis came as a shock.
“I’m a nurse by profession, and even though I didn’t think I was going to get cancer because I treated patients with cancer, I managed patients with cancer, I did awareness on cancer, and then even to me, when I got diagnosed with cancer, I couldn’t believe it.”
She said fear of the unknown was a major reason younger women delayed screening.
“It’s a normal human emotion to be afraid of what you do not understand or what we don’t know. They don’t know what the results are going to be; they don’t know what’s going to happen in the hospitals.”
Ms Susau said a lack of support, financial constraints and misinformation also discouraged women from seeking medical attention.
She stressed that awareness alone was not enough and needed to translate into action.
“We can do all the awareness that we can, but when that awareness is not put into action, that’s when it just becomes awareness. It just becomes a topic that you talk about all day and then you forget about it.”
She encouraged women to take responsibility for their health by seeking regular medical checks.
“My message this year for women out there is to take a chance on yourself. If you are healthy, get checked. Get yearly checks, six-monthly checks, just so you owe it to yourself to have a better and healthier life.”
