Dr. Gia Sison
In celebration of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dr. Gia shares her story with Breast Cancer and how it is like having roles reversed and living in the perspective of a patient.
Tell us about yourself.
Hi I’m Gia Sison and I’m a practising medical doctor. I currently head the Makati Medical Wellness Centre and I’m also a podcaster. I host and I’m a mental health advocate, a mother of two daughters and a 8-year breast cancer survivor.
"The biggest regret of my life was failing to do a self-exam. I could have detected that lump earlier and the stages would have been later, or even caught it before it reached the cancerous stage."
Share with us a little bit about your journey with Breast Cancer. When & how did you first discover you had Breast Cancer?
It was a really different journey. I first discovered the lump in my left breast when I was on a call with my dad on February 23, 2013. I rested my hand on my left breast and it felt like I was putting my hand on a table, so it was already that hard.
When I started to palpate it after I ended the call with my dad, I already knew as a doctor that it was cancer because the lump was so huge. It had no shape, it was not moving. So I called my colleague and scheduled immediately for a biopsy. It was like I kind of swirled into a blackhole all at once and it went so fast.
The biopsy confirmed it was cancer so I immediately decided to have a mastectomy done. It was something that I didn’t spend much time thinking about as all I wanted at that time was to have my left breast cut off and have the cancer out of my body.
"Never feel alone. Just reach out like I did."
How has it changed you, the roles you play, and your life in general?
You would be familiar with feelings of depression, denial, and anger. But I didn’t undergo that. I immediately went into a stage of acceptance, but the weird thing about that now, is that I’m starting to question. It took a reverse in terms of phases of grief. So I underwent a mastectomy and after 30 days, I underwent 6 cycles of chemotherapy. That period of my life was challenging and difficult, aside from the side effects. The mental health journey was difficult. Imagine an active person who had to stay home because my immune system was compromised. I told myself that when I get well, I will really work on the support system that people need when they’re sad.
Looking back, is there anything you would have done differently?
The biggest regret of my life was failing to do a self-exam. I could have detected that lump earlier and the stages would have been later, or even caught it before it reached the cancerous stage.
What are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced throughout this journey?
The mental challenge was harder than the physical one. It’s really like my mind wanted to do it but my body was too weak. But I had my good days, when my husband brought me out with my children to Manila to get a breath of fresh air. Those are the moments I will never forget because you start to realise they’re moments you may seem to take for granted, but they really matter.
What are some of the motivating factors that powered you through all these challenges?
My family. My husband is also a doctor, so when I told my kids, they were only 8 and 12 years old. I had to explain to them and I’m not the type of person to keep something from them so they were also involved in my healing.
Next were my friends who had cancer or were also battling cancer at that time because it’s different when you have a support group that talks about what you actually have and then my friends who were also doctors were very encouraging. The whole cancer team in the hospital of Makati Centre played a huge part in my healing.
What do you look forward to most next?
I look forward to a happier life and see my kids get married, have children, and spend the rest of my life with my husband.
What’s one advice you’d share with the #LBCommunity women about Breast Cancer awareness?
Catch it early. Early prevention is still key. However, if and when you are diagnosed with breast cancer, remember that it is just a word, it is not an automatic death sentence. There is hope beyond the diagnosis and I hope this message resounds to patients who are battling and surviving. My hat’s off to those who survived, and even those who battled but passed. Take care of yourself physically and mentally, and appreciate the small things in life.
What’s one word of encouragement you’d give for all the women in their Breast Cancer recovery journey?
Never feel alone. Just reach out like I did. In fact, Twitter is the first one who knew I had cancer. It was 2:00 AM and I tweeted that “I am diagnosed with cancer, what should I do?”. I was surprised with the responses I got. People who I didn’t even know tweeted and responded to me. So feel free to talk about it as it will help a lot in your journey towards healing.
