The Original Sherma is back

Post-surgery recovery was “hell” for Sherma Joseph. But the Stage 2 breast cancer survivor said at the end of it all she has learnt to put thing in perspective. “The original Sherma is back with no worries! Now I use the experience of my journey to educate other people about cancer.”

Joseph lost her mother three weeks after she (her mother) was diagnosed with cervical cancer in July of 2015. Not very longer after, Joseph said she used to feel “something running across her right breast” and decided to see a doctor. “When it was time for the results the doctor said he wanted to see me. My friend, Judy went with me. He said ‘I have good news and bad news. The bad news is that you have cancer. The good news is that it was detected early’.”

She went on to have a double mastectomy. “I told them to take them out! And I did reconstruction surgery at the same time. It was quite a journey, but I took it in stride.” She said her post-surgery experience was unforgettably painful. “I was sore. There were times when I had to sit up to sleep. And don’t talk about when I had to band my breast to 'train' the implants. It's a foreign thing in your body. Sometimes you lie down and it's all up under your neck. Oh my God lady, it wasn’t easy. People make it sound so easy. You do the surgery, get rid of the cancer and that is it. I was sore. It was a journey, but I pressed on with a positive. What is to be will be.”

The 54-year-old said she did not undergo chemotherapy nor radiation treatment. “What were we going to radiate? The silicone implants? One of my friends reminded me that I had spoken it into being. Before the surgery I had said I was not going to have to do chemo or radiation. This whole cancer thing is a mindset yes. Once you have a positive attitude I think it helps you to be able to recover faster.”

Joseph, a domestic worker, ensures she gets her regular checkups, scans and bloodwork. And her lifestyle changes have been minimal. “I’ve never smoked nor drank. And now I just eat and drink everything in moderation. That is the key.” She said last Christmas her children were shocked to see her take a small drink of ponche de crème. “I told them ‘you all okay yes. It's Christmas. Live, laugh and love'. I enjoy life to the fullest and I’m not going to let cancer keep me back because you never know the day when your Master is going to call you. Why fuss?”

She believes she has an obligation to be a mentor to “sisters” who have become victims of cancer and to encourage them on their journey. “I remember after my surgery a man at the hospital asked me to talk to his wife because she was afraid to do her surgery. I walked into the room and asked, ‘Who is Nicole?” When she responded I lifted my clothes and showed her my scar and told her ‘I did both of them so I could live!’ People have different experiences. You just have to know how to talk to people about it.”

Joseph’s children were adults when she was diagnosed, and although they were concerned, she asked that they just be her support. Her employer, she said, has also been very supportive, as well as the members of her support group Enhancing All Real Survivors. “The group meets every first Saturday of the month and we really support each other. Unfortunately we have lost a lot of sisters.”

Joseph, unashamed of her scars, unbuttoned her shirt and showed WMN the price she had to pay to save her life, before leaving for her appointment to have her hair sisterlocked.