Most young women between the ages of 20-30 don’t even think about breast cancer. Most are either just beginning their careers or in the thick of trying to advance up their industry’s ladder of success. Some are married or contemplating it. Others are completing medical, dental, law, or PhD programs. Still many are simply working hard to figure out who they are and what they’ve been sent to do in this vast world. Assumingly, most of them rarely think of the chance they will be diagnosed with breast cancer. 

For Black women, however, being diagnosed with breast cancer at a younger age is too often the case. Research shows that black women are often diagnosed younger, with more aggressive types of breast cancers when treatments are costly and prognosis is poor. While knowing these facts may make us cautious, the knowledge fails to prepare us for the day when we, or a loved one, is diagnosed. 

In January of 2018, KROUN founder Kristen Marie’s dear friend Angela Agogo discovered that she had breast cancer. At the young age of 28. We asked her to share her journey thus far. This is what she said. 

How did you find out you had breast cancer?

I am an anatomy and physiology instructor at a nursing school. We teach our students how to identify nodules in the breast when we review the reproductive system. I recognized the nodules.

What was the first thought in your mind?

At first, I assumed it was extra breast tissue. Then, when the nodules started to get larger, and I started feeling pain, I knew.

Were you apprehensive about seeing a doctor?

Of course! Nobody wants to hear they have cancer. I had waited so long after I found the nodules, I just couldn’t help but think the worst. Also, I didn’t have health insurance at the time. So, I assumed that I would not have the money to be treated.

Tell me about your families’ reactions to the news. 

My siblings and I are pretty close, so, I told them immediately.  They were very positive. They just kept reminding me how strong we are as a unit. That I would beat this and, before I knew it, I would be back to living my normal life. My aunt and cousin that live here in the states were devastated, only because I had just lost my aunt’s son and my cousin’s big brother to sickle cell anemia. For them, they thought of the worst - it was very devastating for them to hear. I didn’t tell my parents until maybe a month afterwards. My assumption was that they would be in denial. My mom’s initial reaction seemed to be more embarrassed than worried. She asked me to keep it a secret - to not tell anyone. In my culture, being Nigerian, it is seen as more of a punishment for something you have done in your past. It’s as if God is punishing you for what you did by giving you cancer. The thought is that now that you’ve had to experience cancer, you are “damaged goods”.  Nobody would want to be with someone who has a history of cancer. My dad seemed to be kind of speechless.

If you’re comfortable sharing, what was the most difficult facet of your treatment?

The most difficult had to probably be the side effects and my confidence. Pre-cancer I already struggled with low self-esteem when it came to my looks. I consider myself to be a very social person and it’s very rare that I don’t have something to do with either my friends or family on the weekends. So, when I lost all my hair and eyebrows, I struggled immensely and never wanted to leave the house. I would specifically go grocery shopping late at night so that nobody would see me and I wouldn’t run into anyone I know. I hated how much time cancer took from me. I had to decrease my work load by almost 60%, after my double mastectomy. I was out of work for 10 weeks. During the entire year-and-a-half of my treatment, I was going to appointments at least 2-3 times a week. Doctors can’t see you after 5 PM, so, I was having to do things in the middle of the workday. Therefore, treatment prohibited me from being able to go to work. The worst side effects were how often I had to use the restroom, lack of strength, weight gain, and the hot flashes. I hate the misconception that when you go through cancer you lose lots of weight. That is not the case for everyone. It is dependent on the cancer and the chemotherapy treatment. I gained almost 40 pounds due to aggressive chemotherapy. Apparently, with breast cancer if you start to lose weight the doctors get worried. So, I was on different types of steroids to help me gain and keep my weight. Due to the medications I was taking, I had things coming out of both ends if you know what I mean. LOL. So, in the middle of class having to run to a trashcan, or having to run to the restroom constantly was very embarrassing for me. Having my students witness me like that was very hard for me to deal with. It got to the point where, sometimes my students would have to take care of me instead of me teaching the lesson. I will say that I was very blessed during those times because I had very patient students that had compassion for me during my struggles. I enjoy wearing make-up and I love my long hair, but with the hot flashes, normally I would sweat off all my make-up, and my head would get too hot for wearing any wigs. In between treatments, my hair would grow just a little bit. But when I would start treatment again, my hair would fall out again. So, it was more of a tease every time I started to grow hair, which really hurt me. I never wanted to look in a mirror because I did not like what I saw.

Do you feel like your doctor listened to you and attended to any concerns you had?

Oh yes! I will say that I had the best medical team that anyone could ever dream of. My oncologist, my nurse practitioner, the nurses, my breast surgeon, and my plastic surgeon took such good care of me. Thinking about how great my experience was compared to some of the experiences I read online literally brings me to tears. I was never ignored, or told that I was being dramatic even for the smallest things that I worried about. Sometimes, I would be struggling with symptoms at 3 AM in the morning, and my allergist or my nurse practitioner was there to talk me through what I needed to do to start feeling better.

If you could tell the Angie before breast cancer anything, what would it be?

I would tell myself how important mental health really is. You see it on the internet, and you see it on TV, but it’s so much harder to deal with when you’re struggling. During some of my worst times, I had some of my darkest thoughts. I contemplated not going to treatment anymore, I would rather have lived my life painless with breast cancer, than endure some of the things I was dealing with. To have to watch my family and close friends see me in such a vulnerable state was very hard for me. I started going to my cancer support group only to please my oncologist. As I continued to go to the meetings, I realized how helpful it was to be around people that really and truly understood what it was like to be living this life. As a young adult diagnosed with cancer in my 20s pre-marriage and pre-children, was very difficult. I encourage anyone, cancer or not, to at least experience some type of therapy once. Going to a support group helped me to overcome my struggle with low self-esteem when it comes to my looks. I am not 100% back to where I would like to be, but I know that I look fabulous! When I look in the mirror now, I see a bad mamma jama!

Angie, we are here to remind you that you are indeed one bad mamma jama. We love you and we’re rooting for you at every step of your journey. 

To follow more of her journey subscribe to her YouTube page: Living My Breast Life.