Carmen, Egypt

My name is Carmen, and I am eleven. My mum found out that she was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer when I was only 8 years old. She shared the news with me and my brother one late night, 4 months after she found out that she had it. We were still young and didn’t understand much about it. All we knew was that it was some type of disease. Obviously, we were too young to understand that it could cost her her life. 

She told us that in a few days, she would start Chemotherapy, but we had no idea what that meant. About two days after that, my brother and I woke up to the sound of my mum opening the door. She looked really tired and that made me feel bad. Obviously, I never wanted anything bad to happen to her, but there was nothing I could do except wait for her to get better. My brother and I feed her, got her things, helped her get up and waited for her in front of the door when we heard her coming up the stairs. We weren’t allowed to be near her when either of us were sick since they said that she had a weak immune system.

At the time, I didn’t understand why she couldn’t just take some medicine and get better. But now I understand that it’s much harder than that. Also, considering what stage of cancer she was in, my mum is very lucky that she got better that quickly. 

I don’t want anyone to ever have to go through anything like that. Unlike many, my mother had the financial means for treatment, a loving and supportive immediate family, and no disabilities like blindness or deafness. These are significant advantages that not everyone has.