Journey from darkness to light

Group of cancer survivors holds awareness seminar at Karachi Press Club

By Bisma Khan and Uzma Shah

THE moment Amber was diagnosed with breast cancer all her close relatives, among them her parents and husband, made a bolt for the exit. Put differently, they decided to sever all ties with her, for obvious reasons. It was a hopeless situation; actually, it was worse than hopeless.

As her parents and husband decided to dissociate with her financial affairs, stark choices stared Amber in the face. It was clear that she not only had to cope with a painful disease but also provide for her three daughters and one son until her last breath. Left alone to bear all that burden, she really didn’t know what to do.

But then, slowly but surely, hope began to emerge from the doom and gloom around her. Members of a group of breast cancer survivors — called Shamma-e-Firozan — decided they will not sit idly by as Amber succumbs to a painful disease and her children fall to depths of deprivation. They decided to make her last few months as bearable as they possibly could.

One day Amber told them she wanted her daughters to be married by the time she breathed her last, and that all her children be enrolled in school. Members of the group immediately set about making her wishes come true and within months they managed to hold a ceremony at which Nikah of her two daughters was solemnised.

Although Amber did not live long enough to see the Rukhsati of her daughters, she passed away rather peacefully, content that the future of her daughters had been secured. All the members of the Shamma-e-Firozan group and many of their friends and relatives made that possible as they were generous equally with their money and their time.

Founder of Shamma-e-Firozan and (right) secretary of the press club speak at the seminar

Shamma-e-Firozan was founded in 2021 by Arisha Rizvi, when she and a few other cancer survivors set up a WhatsApp group in order to discuss their health and happiness, ponder over their experiences, and simply share their thoughts. Starting from there, the group’s members slowly began to nurture a healthier environment for the new patients, by giving them hope and solace and trying to dispel misconceptions.

The main reasons for setting up the group were: ensuring that the affected women get a space where they can discuss signs, symptoms, and risk factors related to breast cancer; promote early detection of the disease through screening and self-examination, and: provide emotional support and resources to each other as well as new patients.

Shamma-e-Firozan recently held a seminar to spread awareness about the dreaded disease. It is because of such events that the group now has 85 devoted members.

Early on in their work, the members began to realise that while dealing with a terminal disease it’s important to raise the patients’ morale, boost their confidence, and generally help enhance their will to live. One’s body is capable of doing wonders if he/she decides to fight for what they desire. The journey to one’s healing, therefore, comes from within.

In time, the group’s members began to see counselling as a ‘basic first step’ towards preparing the patients for what could come next. The second step involves raising awareness about the dreaded disease and how to examine one’s body for signs of it. This step is aimed at early detection of the disease and even prevention.

Until now Shamma-e-Firozan’s members have been working without any help from other organisations. But now they want to enhance their outreach; so they have entered into collaboration with several important organisations.

The aim is to spread awareness about how to prevent cancer in the first place and how best to cope with it in case it could not be avoided. The names of some of the group’s partner organisations are: the Sindh Institute of Urology and Transplantation; Fatima Jamal Memorial Welfare Organisation; ⁠Art Beat; Karachi Municipal Corporation; and Karachi Press Club.

Shamma-e-Firozan needs support from the government as well as the private sector so that it may spread awareness in schools, colleges, and offices about the early detection, signs, and risk factors of breast cancer in particular and other cancers in general. 

Participants of the function show off their certificates