Ann Marie Seebaran: 14 years a survivor

Even after the scare of having cancer and the horrors of chemotherapy, Ann Marie Seebaran, 61, feels blessed to have survived because of the positive effects they left on her life.

Seebaran said when she found out she had cancer in October 2004, she thought she was going to die. Then, chemo tested her patience and strength as she suffered from nausea, hair loss, constipation for five days after treatment followed by diarrhoea which led to hemorrhoids, painful sores in her mouth, her gums began to separate from her teeth and bleed, and her finger and toe nails turned black. Sometimes she was very tired and weak but, as a single mother, she still had to cook for her son, so she would just sink to the floor and do her food preparation there because she did not have the energy to walk to a chair.

“Up to now I brush my teeth with a baby toothbrush because my gums are still tender and they bleed a lot. Everybody who takes chemo goes through hell in their own way. I do not wish chemo on anybody.”

Despite this, she said her experiences left her with a different, more positive view on life. She is no longer judgemental, is more compassionate and understanding with others, and no longer takes anything or anyone for granted. “I just try my best to do what I have to do for others. I try to live my life in such a way that I don’t leave anything for tomorrow that I can do today.

“I feel blessed because although cancer and chemo was something negative, out of that I made so many good friends and lasting relationships. I am also blessed that I am around to do whatever it takes to give people hope.”

Recalling her experience, Seebaran told WMN it was a coincidence that she found the lump. She was lying down at home with one arm behind her head and the other resting on her breast when she felt it. “It was just an accident. I was not in the habit of examining myself at all. I was just lying there and felt a lump.”

She said it took her two weeks to build up the courage to visit the doctor, who performed a mammogram and told her she most likely had cancer. “It did not make an impact on me at that time. It was only when the results came back and he told me that I had to do chemo and radiation is when it really hit me. I literally saw my life flashing before my eyes from age five up to that time. Then I cried like hell, from Woodbrook until I reached home in Caroni, from taxi to taxi.”

She said for her cancer meant death. She said when she was growing up people did not talk about cancer. In fact, they did not even want to say the word and instead called it “The Big C.” She said even now, with all the cancer walks and information available on the internet, people still need to be educated about cancer.

On November 3, after she had time to come to terms with her situation, Seebaran had a lumpectomy at a private medical institution. She was told her cancer was at Stage One going on Two and would have six sessions, one every 21 days, and one month of radiation, which she did in June 2005.

“Chemo is hell to go through, but at the end of the day, even though we don’t know for how long again, it gives you life. Fortunately the radiation was a breeze through and I am surviving for 14 years now.”

She said her main support was a couple, her friend, Rowan Braithwaite and Rowan’s then boyfriend, now husband, Chris Persad. “Both of them, they were there for me from the day I was diagnosed until I finished radiation. They did more for me than my family.”

She said, at the time, she was a single parent of a 16-year-old boy so she had to work. However, her employer gave her a lot of time off and even paid for her surgery. While she never expected anything from anyone, her co-workers too were compassionate and helpful, and other people who she never thought cared for her that much, assisted or visited her.

Seebaran thanks them all for their concern and support and hopes that her story will encourage others going through similar situations to stay positive and hold on to hope.