Jamila Bannister

KRISTY RAMNARINE

Kristy.ramnarine@cnc3.co.tt

October has two purposes for Jamila Bannister. Celebration and advocacy.

About a year and half ago–on May 24, 2023, to be precise–the communications professional was diagnosed with inflammatory breast cancer (IBC). Bannister kicked off Pink October with the celebration of her birthday on the very first day of the month.

“I’m so thankful to be here for another year, thankful to see another birthday,” she said.

“Inflammatory breast cancer in one of the rarest forms of breast cancer that affects women. It’s a particularly aggressive strain that that tends to affect younger women of African descent more than any other group. Unlike many other forms of breast cancer, it doesn’t usually show up with a lump.”

However, according to the T&T Cancer Society warning signs for breast cancer usually include:

• A lump or thickening of an area of the breast that does not disappear

after a reasonable period of time

• Changes in the size or shape of the breast

• Changes in the skin of the breast such as dimpling, puckering or a rash

• Breast pain that does not go away after a reasonable period of time

• Inverted nipple or unusual nipple discharge

Bannister remembered feeling strange sensations in her right breast in October 2022.

At the time she didn’t think it was anything to be alarmed about.

She recalled, “It felt like zips of pain. I did my annual breast and pap smear in December and everything seemed alright. By January of 2023, though, my right breast started swelling and I had a consistent dull pain that would flare up to an intense burning from time to time. This triggered a number of doctor’s visits, from a GP to a scan, to a mammogram, back to my GYN and finally to a specialist, who was finally able to tell me what was going. By May 4, it was finally confirmed as breast cancer.”

Her diagnosis was classified as locally advanced because it had already progressed to her lymph nodes.

“Because of this and the immense spread of the disease throughout my right breast, I had to proceed immediately to chemotherapy in order to arrest the progress of the disease before any surgery could be done,” she said.

“I endured eight rounds of chemotherapy; a mix of Taxol and Carboplatin as well as the hormone suppressant Herceptin which I got 18 times.”

Taxol is a taxane chemotherapy drug that blocks cell growth by stopping mitosis while Carboplatin is a chemotherapy drug that contains the metal platinum. Both are used to treat cancer.

Her chemotherapy treatment was followed up with a double mastectomy.

“The mastectomy experience was intense,” she said.

“Apart from getting used to my body looking and feeling unlike anything I’d seen or experienced before, mentally I had to adjust to what having this new body would be like. Surgery usually means the loss of sensation in the area where you’re cut and this could be temporary or permanent.”

It took time for Bannister to get used to losing a primary erogenous zone.

“I didn’t feel sad though, I felt more relief as I just wanted to be rid of the threat to my life. Recovery was also rough to begin with, but I was well taken care of and made a full recovery.”

Bannister has not entered her next phase of radiation therapy. “It’s been a long 18 months and counting of needles and knives, but I’ve grown used to it now,” she said.

“Radiation therapy is a form of localised treatment meant to reduce the chances of recurrence of disease. Unlike chemotherapy, which is medication that run through one’s veins, radiation focuses specifically on the affected area. It’s the final phase of intense treatment and I’m happy to have gotten to this stage.”

On International Women’s Day 2023 Bannister pre-launched her e-commerce business The Beautiful Market which caters to women who have experienced hair loss. She said the diagnosis prompted her to reevaluate her choices and purpose in life.

“It forced me to be much more intentional about the life I wanted to lead and the legacy I wanted to leave,” she said.

“I’ve become more intentional about the relationships I build, about my spiritual life and my walk with God, more intentional about the food I consume, keeping active and definitely not sweating the small stuff. It has made life extremely fulfilling, peaceful and clear. What started off as a very dark and sad experience has reshaped my life in a way that I’m so grateful to God for.”

With a very strong circle of support, Bannister is ready for the next phase.

“My family, my parents, siblings, my friends and even people I met along the way have shown up for me in such amazing ways,” she said.

“Good support is so important when facing a diagnosis like cancer and I certainly had that. Apart from that, I also had to make sense of the situation, so I spent a lot of time reading books like ‘Anti-Cancer’ and ‘Not the breast year of my life’. I also spent a lot of time listening to and reading scriptures of healing which soothed my soul on the nights that anxiety would steal my sleep.

“Joining online communities with other survivors was also a game changer for me because the first-hand knowledge from women who walked this road before was golden in helping me understand what I was up against while being encouraged.”

Bannister recently launched a new blog to teach, support and give newly diagnosed patients knowledge they need to navigate their diagnosis and treatment.

“The Thrive Guide Blog, was an idea that came to me when I reflected on how lost and confused I felt when I was first diagnosed,” she explained.

“There were no local resources that explained inflammatory breast cancer that I could easily find online. I vowed to help other learn more about IBC.

“But the idea evolved into a blog and an online knowledge base about how to navigate breast cancer treatment in T&T when I realised how many patients I met who were almost ‘feeling their way through the dark’ with this experience when trying to navigate and understand all the moving parts.”

She believed there needed to be more information about treatment specific to T&T.

“I wrote about all of the things I experienced in format to guide other patients who may be like I was, looking for first-hand knowledge about navigating breast cancer in Trinidad and Tobago.”

Bannister’s aim is to continue sharing her stories and experiences in a bid to help patients concretise things they are feeling but don’t have the words to express, help them figure out the essentials they will need at every stage of their journey, and help them navigate the mental overwhelm one can feel when navigating a serious illness.

The post Jamila Bannister first appeared on CNC3.