I became very sick in Matric; so sick I was in and out of hospital. As time went by doctors told me what was making me sick. I still remember the day; it was the 5th of May 2017 when things began to be dark in my life.

It was such a windy and cold day when I received the bad news. That day I was with my mother and my best friend. The doctors were in and out of my ward. They told me that I had a problem with my womb. I was diagnosed with cervical cancer. The world became blank in my eyes; nothing meant anything. I was so lost the only thing I remember was my mother comforting me.

From that day everything changed, life was unbearable. I just wanted to die. I was hopeless. That’s when my best friend entered and gave me ‘the talk’. She gave me hope and love and told me that there is so much I could still do and that the world had not ended. I might be young living with such a disease, but I could still be whatever I wanted to be.

She brought life and light into my life. She gave me the persistence to live and the ability to love myself again. She showed me the love she had for me. She is one of the people I’m grateful to have in my life. I thank God that I met her. I am who I am. I am a cancer survivor, I love myself and I know I have the ability to bring change.

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Tell us: Have you ever overcome a sickness? Who helped you through it?