“What happened to me should not happen to anyone else”: Women’s stories of breast cancer care in Ethiopia

Three women, three journeys to breast cancer care in Addis Ababa, in their own words 

Breast cancer can be more difficult to treat when diagnosed at a later stage, bringing significant challenges for women and their families. In these three stories  women treated in Addis Ababa share their experiences of seeking care, the obstacles they faced and what they want other women to know. The accounts below are based on the English subtitles of the original interviews, with the women’s words retained wherever possible. 

“It was too early,” they said 

Five years of waiting for a lump to grow, and the message Sa’ada now shares with other women 

Sa’ada lives in Woreda 6 of Lafto sub-city in Addis Ababa and has one child. She had never been told that breast pain could be a warning sign. When the pain became severe, it felt like a needle pricking her, stopping, and then pricking again. She went to her local health centre, where she was examined and told she had a tumour. She was sent to a hospital to have it removed urgently. 

That was the start of a long wait. At the hospital she was told the tumour was too small to remove at that stage, and that it needed to grow. She waited a year, then two, and went back each time. Each time she heard the same thing. This went on for five years. She tried private hospitals too, and one offered to operate if she paid a deposit of 25,000 to 30,000 Birr and accepted the risk herself. After discussing it with her family, she felt afraid and decided not to proceed. 

Then the lump began to grow. Her health centres sent her to Churchill Road Health Center, where a nurse, Sister Selamawit, saw that the lump had grown and the team decided that surgery should happen without delay. She underwent surgery and began chemotherapy five months later. 

Sa’ada says she had heard people talk about cancer but never had real knowledge of it. She did not think a woman could live after losing a breast. At Churchill Road the staff told her it was stage two, found early, and that many people had been cured. They also told her about another woman who had been treated at stage four and survived. That is what changed how she felt. 

She is supported by her husband, her sister and her family, and by the doctors who encouraged her to stand up and keep hope. She is also honest about what is still hard. Medicine is not always available, and her family has had to pay for many of the medicines she needs for chemotherapy because her insurance covers only a small proportion of the cost. Appointments take a long time, and she has seen how long waits can cost other women their chance of a cure. She hopes more hospitals and beds will be available. 

Her advice to other women is simple. Women are now being told to check their breasts with their hands when they wake up in the morning, and she asks them to do it, and to go to a doctor if anything seems wrong. 

“What happened to me should not happen to anyone else” 

A mother who raised her children alone, and what follow-up from her local health centres meant to her. 

She is a mother of two, now aged 11 and 18, whom she raised on her own. When she noticed a lump in her left breast, she did not go to a health facility. It was a painful lump, and like many women, she was worried about herself but did not act. Later, fluid began to come out of her breast, mixed with blood and pus. That was what finally frightened her enough to go to her local health centre in Woreda 6. 

The staff asked why she had waited so long. They referred her to Churchill Road Health Center, where she had tests, including an ultrasound. There she learned that the cancer had spread from her left breast to the right. She remembers feeling terrified. She feared she might die at any moment and was thinking of friends who had died after their cancer spread. 

That encouragement mattered. She says the staff at Churchill Road give her hope each time she goes, and that her own hope has been renewed. The care does not stop at the clinic door. The team at Churchill Road follows up with her every week, and the health centre in her own woreda calls to check that she is being looked after. She says she is grateful to the professionals, and that their attitude is good. 

She also thinks about her children. Her eldest daughter misses her terribly when she is away for treatment. She says that is one more reason she wants other women to avoid the delay she had. 

Her message is direct. She believes she was negligent and that it harmed her, and she does not want anyone else to go through it. She asks every woman to get checked quickly, before the disease takes root. 

A visit for diabetes that uncovered breast cancer 

How a routine diabetes appointment led to a breast cancer diagnosis for Etemanchi, aged 61 

Etemanchi is 61 and comes from Woreda 5 in Nefas Silk Lafto sub-city. For several months, Etemanchi had experienced intermittent breast pain, which she described as a biting, pinching or stabbing sensation.  She thought it was minor. She even bought medicine from a pharmacy, which gave her temporary relief. 

What changed things was an ordinary visit to the health centre for her diabetes. At the end of the visit she mentioned that her breast was hurting a little. The doctor said, “Let me examine your breasts,” found something, and referred her for an ultrasound. The scan showed a sign, and she was sent straight to Churchill Road Health Center. Because she also had diabetes, she was then referred to Black Lion Hospital for surgery. 

At Black Lion, she underwent further investigations, including an ultrasound, mammogram, biopsy, blood tests and an X-ray. She was told that her breast would need to be removed and was offered a choice between removing only the lump or the whole breast. She chose to have the whole breast removed because she did not want to have surgery again. She says the doctors discussed the decision with her several times before proceeding with surgery on the scheduled date.  

The news was not easy. When she was told it was cancer, she says it felt like being shot. She left the examination room and went home crying, and her children were deeply upset. Support came from a doctor in the cancer department at Black Lion who asked her to come back the next morning, listened and explained, and gave her strength. 

Another woman who had surgery at Churchill Road also became part of her recovery. She still phones to ask how Etemanchi is, how her wound is, and whether she is recovering. When Etemanchi said she wanted to visit a holy water site after her surgery, her friend urged her to finish her medical treatment first. Her husband and children support her too, and she says she is well, active and happy. 

She also noticed how the health system is checking on her. At her monthly diabetes visits, the health centre asks whether she has checked her breasts and what symptoms she has felt. There is nobody in her area who goes door to door to teach about it, so those questions made the difference. She is honest that she was late, and that an earlier visit might have saved her breast. She also says the hospital beds are a problem, and asks Global Health Partnerships and THET to help with that. 

Her message to her own children and to every woman is to learn from her. Neglect harms you and your family, she says, and young women are also developing breast cancer, so screening should not wait. She adds that cervical cancer is also a major killer, and women should be checked for that as well. 

—— 

Each case study comes from a separate video interview and features a different woman. Sa’ada (case study 1) is named in her video’s subtitles. The woman in case study 2 is not named, so she is kept anonymous. Etemanchi (case study 3) is named from her video file name. 

These case studies come from Improving NCD & Cancer Care in Ethiopia, a programme delivered by Global Health Partnerships (formerly THET) and funded by AstraZeneca.