{"id":98650,"date":"2024-09-15T23:38:40","date_gmt":"2024-09-15T21:38:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer"},"modified":"2024-09-16T01:41:29","modified_gmt":"2024-09-15T23:41:29","slug":"sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer","title":{"rendered":"Sickness and pain brought us closer"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. <\/strong><\/span>Joseph Ssemakula and Josephine Watera met at Makerere University in 2004 at the library.<\/p>\n

\u201cOne weekend, I went to the School of Education library and sat on the same table with Joseph. He had a book on management studies and I picked interest in reading it,\u201d Josephine recalls.<\/p>\n

The two became friends over books, and Joseph introduced her to a management forum that would meet every Thursday.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe would attend the meeting, listen to different presentations together and our friendship grew as we talked about our takeaways,\u201d Josephine says.<\/p>\n

Beginning<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cAfter the Covid-19 vaccination season in 2021, I started feeling a bit of discomfort in my breasts. I thought it was an ovulation issue but the discomfort persisted. I went to Kampala Hospital for examination and general consultation,\u201d Josephine says.<\/p>\n

She adds that the doctor recommended that she goes for a mammogram. Josephine went to different imaging centres in Kampala but settled for the Kololo centre.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I was told to go for the mammogram, there was fear of the unknown. I had a mixed bag of emotions. Anxiety overrode and I was praying that the results would not turn out bad,\u201d she shares.<\/p>\n

After requesting a mammogram, she was encouraged by her husband to stand strong.<\/p>\n

\u201cJoseph kept me calm with words of encouragement and said we were in the crisis together, we would overcome no matter the outcome of the screening,\u201d she recounts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen the results came out, the woman who was supposed to write the report felt the need to do something additional because something did not look right, which she decided to follow up on,\u201d says Josephine.<\/p>\n

The woman told her there was a growth in her breasts and she went back to Kampala Hospital.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe woman at Kampala Hospital advised me to do a biopsy that involved taking some samples in an area suspected to have cancer, but the hospital did not have the facility. I was referred to another health facility,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Samples were sent to different laboratories but the results were contradictory. She underwent another biopsy which produced the same unclear results.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe decided to seek medical advice in another advanced medical facility where we did a PET scan in Nairobi,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Treatment journey<\/b><\/p>\n

When Josephine did the PET scan, the results confirmed cancer in one of her breasts. She had to do another biopsy in Nairobi, Kenya.<\/p>\n

\u201cAfter all the confirmations, I was started on chemotherapy where the doctor would have to administer eight cycles. Every three weeks I would get a chemo cycle,\u201d Josephine recalls.<\/p>\n

After chemotherapy in March 2022, she waited for a month before she had a left breast mastectomy.<\/p>\n

Afterwards, Josephine was started on radiotherapy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe treatment was from May 14 to June 25 for 30 sessions,\u201d she explains. Adding she had to undergo reviews every three months.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn April 2023, by God\u2019s grace, I responded very well to the treatment and there is no sign of the tumour in my body. I thank God because it was a tough season and Sanlam insurance covered the treatment expenses.<\/p>\n

\u201cI am undergoing hormonal therapy that comes after all the treatment, and I have been feeling pain in my hand that arose after the surgery. I am getting medication for that but insurance still covers that,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Missed plans?<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cThe cancer did not stop any of the plans I had, it gave me a chance to reflect on my PhD studies that I started in 2020,\u201d she says. At the time she was getting treatment in Nairobi, Josephine was supposed to move to South Africa to collect data but she created a plan B.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I got approval, I got connected with people who became part of my data collection team. So, while getting treatment at the hospital, I would be interviewing Members of Parliament for my study,\u201d she relates.<\/p>\n

She says at the time she explored new options in her career.<\/p>\n

\u201cI got to know of an application to be a member of an Independent Evaluation Panel by the Global Fund that was advertised and someone sent it to me. I applied and was shortlisted,\u201d she adds.<\/p>\n

Balancing family roles<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cMy husband was heavily involved in taking care of the children and checking on me,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

Josephine notes that she encouraged him to keep focused on their children since she had family with her in Nairobi.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to make a choice and we decided my husband would deal with the children and ensure they have all they need while I was away,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe had to step up in taking care of the home because when I had the surgery I had to be in Nairobi for a month and when I did radiotherapy, I spent six weeks in Nairobi, so I could not do much at home,\u201d she recalls.<\/p>\n

Advice<\/b><\/p>\n

Joseph says married men have to step up when a spouse is physically sick. He adds that when difficulties happen in a marriage, a couple becomes closer.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s in the difficult days that you realise you need your spouse around,\u201d Joseph says.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Zimbabwe Follow Africa-Press<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Joseph Ssemakula and Josephine Watera met at Makerere University in 2004 at the library. \u201cOne weekend, I went to the School of Education library and sat on the same table with Joseph. He had a book on management studies and I picked interest in reading it,\u201d Josephine recalls. The two became friends […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":98649,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3,9],"tags":[19],"class_list":["post-98650","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-miscellaneous","tag-zimbabwe"],"yoast_head":"\nSickness and pain brought us closer - zimbabwe<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Joseph Ssemakula and Josephine Watera met at Makerere University in 2004 at the library. \u201cOne weekend, I went to the Sc ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Sickness and pain brought us closer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Joseph Ssemakula and Josephine Watera met at Makerere University in 2004 at the library. \u201cOne weekend, I went to the Sc ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"zimbabwe\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2024-09-15T21:38:40+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2024-09-15T23:41:29+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/09\/sm_1726431041.947861.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1200\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"800\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"Sickness and pain brought us closer\",\"datePublished\":\"2024-09-15T21:38:40+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2024-09-15T23:41:29+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer\"},\"wordCount\":862,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/sites\/14\/2024\/09\/sm_1726431041.947861.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Zimbabwe\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"miscellaneous\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/zimbabwe\/all-news\/sickness-and-pain-brought-us-closer\",\"name\":\"Sickness and pain brought us closer - 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