Guest Blog 7 – PART I
By Mehtap Savaş
January 2025
Ankara, Turkiye
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This guest blog consists of seven parts – hyperlinks will be added as they are published in order:
PART I – INTRODUCTION
PART II – LIFE WITH CANCER AND TREATMENT (please see here)
PART III – LIFE WITHOUT A STOMACH (please see here)
PART IV – RETURN TO WORK AND IMPACT OF CANCER (please see here)
PART V – FOLLOW UP: GOOD DOCTORS, BAD DOCTORS (please see here)
PART VI – CURRENT STATE & FINAL WORDS (please see here)
PART VII: SILENCE OF THE MOTHERS (please see here)
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PART I – INTRODUCTION
Hello, I am Mehtap Savaş, older sister of Professor Dr. Sevtap Savaş.
I greet you with love and want to share my stomach cancer story and experiences with you (I was diagnosed in 2009).
With this, I hope that people who have not encountered cancer can understand us, at least a little bit.
IS IT A HOSPITAL? MY GOD! NO! First of all, I would like to tell you about my hospital phobia and how I came to the diagnosis stage despite this phobia. When I was 5-6 years old, I had a tonsillectomy performed under local anesthesia, which made me very afraid. When I was taken to the operating room for the operation as a small child, I struggled so much and caused difficulties for the doctors that my surgery could only be performed on the third attempt, at a different time. After this traumatic experience, I developed a hospital phobia and when I grew up, I almost never went to the hospital unless I had to. MY DEAR SISTER'S ROLE IN CANCER DIAGNOSIS I had nodules in my thyroid. My beloved nodules are a big family that has become more and more crowded over the years. My sister was insisting that I go to an endocrinologist for a very long time. Due to my hospital phobia, I was stubborn and did not go. Finally, as a result of my sister's persistent efforts, I made an appointment. When my doctor saw my tests indicating extreme anemia, he asked me directly: "Haven't you ever thought about which cancer I have?". I was 41 years old and even though I had stomach pains, I didn't even think about it. Thanks to the gastroenterologist who referred me to the doctor I went to for a completely different illness, it was understood that I had stomach cancer. If I am alive today, I owe it to my sister, and on this occasion, I once again express my endless gratitude to her. If I had not gone to the doctor (endocrinologist) at her insistence and had not been directed to another doctor thanks to the endocrinologist's attention, I would have passed into a stage from which it is unlikely to return.
(My mischievous sister :-). I took the photo when I was discharged from my second surgery. The one in his hand is the name card that was put on my wrist in the hospital. :-) )
MY DIAGNOSIS PHASE
First, I had a colonoscopy with endoscopy at the university hospital and samples were taken from my stomach for pathological examination. Later, in our healthcare system, patients generally receive their examination results from the relevant unit and show them to their doctors, so I picked up the pathology result in the same way.
BRAIN ENCLOSURE
When I looked at the pathology report, I saw that the result was cancer.
First I took one step to the right, then one step to the left. Then I stopped where I was. I don't remember how long I stayed like that. At this stage I had a brain eclipse. I couldn't think of anything. Then suddenly I came to my senses and started thinking about what I should do. I am a lawyer and therefore I take immediate action and focus on results.
It occurred to me to look for the university room of the doctor whose private practice I went to. Luckily, he was in his room and it was confirmed through his words that I had stomach cancer. While he was trying to explain to me that I had a chance of recovery with treatments such as surgery and chemotherapy, I asked what I should do. He said “let's get an MRI first”.
I went outside and realized at that moment that I didn't want to be alone. I called my office-mate at work, whom I love very much, and told her about the situation and asked if she could come pick me up.
While I was waiting for my friend, I saw that I was standing under a mulberry (a type of fruit) tree and started eating mulberries from the branches I could reach.
I was diagnosed with cancer, which is associated with death, and I was eating mulberries, not knowing what would happen to me.
FIRST STEP TO TREATMENT
While I was thinking about what path I should follow, my friend came and, thanks to my friend, I took the first step I needed to take in my cancer treatment journey.
She said, "If you trust me, let's go to my brother." My friend's brother was a general surgeon who was the clinical chief at a State-owned Training, Research and Oncology Hospital, and he performed my mother's un-critical surgery about 2.5 months ago. He said yes, there was something, and further examinations began the next morning.
HOW WAS I GOING TO TELL MY FAMILY?
This was the issue that challenged me the most at that moment.
How should I say it? First, I called my brother, who lives in another city, and explained the situation to him. Then I went home.. The hardest thing was to tell my mother and I couldn't find the right words.
I finally told my mom that the results were back, and I was diagnosed with cancer.
When I think about my mother's reaction, she never cried, never showed her sadness. And she said to me, "My inner voice tells me that you will get better, don't worry, we will get through this too." My mother was a woman who was strong as a mountain and always supported her children. She always hid the pain inside her and never showed it to me.
The strength of will shown by a mother whose child was diagnosed with cancer was incredible.
Of course, I also had to tell my sister about this result. I sent her a message and wrote that the results were not very good. My sister remained silent for a while. Then when she called, she said she wanted to come, but I told her there was no need to come right away.
My MoM
I will tell you about my dear mother, who passed away from cancer 3 years ago, and how she took care of me carefully in a separate article, as I do not want to squeeze in between the lines in this article.