11-year cancer survivor Najah Peterkin bravely tackles new challenges

Eleven years after Najah Peterkin was cleared of breast cancer, she now has lymphedema, a condition that causes swelling due to a build-up of lymph fluid, in her left arm and is losing the ability to hear in her right ear, due to the side effects of chemotherapy treatment. Despite these new challenges, she still takes her exercise routines seriously, which has helped to control the swelling in her left arm.

Peterkin, vice-president of customer experience and organisation health at National Commercial Bank Capital Markets, was first diagnosed with breast cancer in 2011 at the age of 31­– nine years before women are encouraged to do their first mammogram.

“The swelling didn’t happen 11 years ago. The swelling came last year. I’m grateful that I had 10 years of no swelling, but it’s irreversible. It’s here to stay, so I learn to live with it,” Peterkin told Lifestyle.

She said the hearing loss she is now experiencing is something she would have never expected at her current age.

“I wouldn’t dream that this had anything to do with cancer. I had done every test, and can you believe what it led to? Chemotherapy. Chemotherapy is causing me to lose [my hearing]. I just really did the test, like, four weeks ago,” Peterkin said, adding that she didn’t initially share the news with her mother, with whom she shares everything.

Conditioning her mind to live with an arm that looks swollen, Peterkin also educates others who are concerned when they see her in public.

“People see me with a sleeve [on my arm] and I get questions all the time. People tend to think, because I work out a lot, it was an injury-related sleeve or fashion. Not quite [so]. It’s lymphedema,” Peterkin explained.

The fresh feeling of hearing about her diagnosis still lingers in Peterkin’s mind.

“At that time, I can’t tell you that I knew even one person with breast cancer other than my aunt, who was diagnosed about a year before, but she was 40. She lived in England, so it didn’t feel as close ... . I particularly found my diagnosis to be hard, because of my age. I didn’t have any children as yet, and most of the people that I was interacting with, they were over 50,” she said, adding, “We have to be careful with how we keep saying that we’re really not testing until 40.”

Peterkin said she wasn’t always comfortable sharing her story, but after 12 years, she realised how important advocacy is for others and has started opening up.

“I often only speak in October, because it really is emotional. Although it was 12 years ago, it still feels...not like yesterday, but a little close. I really encourage everyone to get familiar with your bodies. Do the self-breast examinations, men and women. That was how I detected that I had a lump.”

When she first felt a lump in her breast, her lymph nodes were also swollen, leading her to believe what she suspected, but she went to the doctor nonetheless.

She was then diagnosed with stage-two, triple-negative breast cancer, a very aggressive and early-onset form of the disease, but she is happy to have now passed the worst.

“With amazing family, friends, doctors and prayer warriors – yes, you have to have those, too – we got through some very trying times. I want to declare that the journey isn’t easy, but you have to have the right support.”

Now that Peterkin has undergone chemotherapy, surgery and radiation, she is advising young women and men to get critical health insurance.

“Critical health insurance is not only for old people. It can save your life. Twelve years ago, I spent millions too, so it’s just more millions. So, I couldn’t stand here and not tell you that critical illness insurance is important. It’s not only important; you have to have it. When I got [critical health insurance] at 24, it wasn’t because I thought I would get sick. It was because I was helping out my friend who was a sales agent...I took the policy and it saved my life,” Peterkin shared.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com