Surviving breast cancer: Mabel Hackett is a fighter

By Alva Solomon

At age 21, Mabel Hackett was attending bible school at Hauraruni on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway when she fell through a bunk bed, hitting her right breast in the process. She was painting a wall at the time.
It was a fall that would leave a significant impact on her daily life, since, some 14 years later, she observed swelling in her right breast and a searing pain started to become a regular occurrence.

Within a few months, the pain became unbearable and Hackett decided to seek medical attention since she observed several lumps within the breast. “I went to see a doctor at Eureka Lab and she advised me to do an ultrasound and after I take out my report she advised me it is very dangerous and I cannot waste no time with my life,” Hackett said.
It was August that year and following the doctor’s advice, she decided to undergo an X-ray in the form of a mammogram. Hackett was then referred to the St Joseph Mercy Hospital and medical staff there gave her some advice which came as a rude awakening. She said the doctors advised her that she would have to either remove the breast or undergo chemotherapy. They were options which she could not pursue at the time since the cost, which was in the vicinity of $1 million, was beyond her pockets.
Alternatively, the doctors decided to remove the lumps through a surgical procedure that September. Samples were taken from the breast and sent to Trinidad and Tobago for further analysis. The samples indicated that cancerous cells were within the breast. Hackett was shocked but she knew she had to follow the doctor’s advice.
In December that year, another surgical procedure was undertaken to remove any other infectious cell from the breast.

Therapy
The following year, Hackett was treated at the Georgetown Public Hospital Corporation (GPHC) for the ailment and this saw her journeying from her home in the Moruca sub-region to the city for the check-ups. “Every time I go I would take an ultrasound and an X-ray and the doctor would look at it and he wasn’t seeing anything,” she said. This saw her breathing a sigh of relief as she not only feared losing the breast but her life, to cancer.
Hackett said after the surgery she noticed that her right hand was not the same as before. “My right hand, from the time I take the surgery, do not have the strength to do work as before, it became very weak,” she said. However, she said she could hoist any load, and being the larger-than-life character that she is, she still plays cricket and volleyball with her friends at Moruca. “After I finish playing it would affect me,” she said.

Sports enthusiast
At her village, Hackett is known for her involvement in sports. She is also a youth leader at her church and many children as well as other villagers look up to her as a role model. On a lighter note, Hackett possess a unique trait; her voice is so powerful that whenever she speaks at one end of the playfield, she can be heard at its boundaries.
Within her family she is also seen as a pivotal figure and although she is the 9th of 11 children, she is seen as the most senior of the siblings. According to Hackett, it is now 11 years after surgery was performed on her breast and occasionally, she would feel minor pains around the area where the surgical procedures were done. “Maybe because of the fatigue of the hand I would feel the pain,” she said.
She said she would advise women who might be experiencing pains in their breast as well as noticeable lumps, not to waste any time in seeking treatment. “Go and see your doctor before it is too late,” she said.
“If there is any women out there who is suffering and having any symptoms, whether you are not feeling too good with, may be experiencing what I went through, I would like to encourage you to keep the faith and pray to God Almighty and don’t give up,” Hackett said.
In addition, she said persons in such positions should eat healthy meals and “live a healthy life and believe in God”.
According to Hackett, “I am cured 100 per cent because I trust in Jesus, my faith is in him, I pray and I speak to him every day, I’m cured and I am healed”.