Sixty-year-old Poio Managa, from Kivori-Kui in Central Province, is a two-time cancer survivor.
She is also the longest survivor in PNG to have lived after being diagnosed with breast cancer first in 1994, and then again for cancer of the uterus (endometrial cancer) in 1995.
Her story is an inspiration; displaying bravery and strong mind power during an era where the disease called cancer was not known by many in PNG.
While others younger than her diagnosed with cancer have already died, Poio lives to tell her story.
She first discovered a lump in her right breast in 1992. She was told it was nothing serious when she consulted a private doctor in the year and the following.
“I was told it was only water,” she recalls.
But she insisted on it until she was referred to the Port Moresby General Hospital in 1995 and was confirmed to have breast cancer.
“To our understanding at that time, cancer only led to death. There was no chance for survival once one had cancer,” Poio said.
She laughed casually while retelling the experience that had left her so scared with a dangerously high blood pressure.
“By then, the cancer had reached its final stage – it was malignant. They had to cut it off to stop it from spreading.
“I couldn’t help myself but cry. I was so scared I had high blood pressure and was sent home to wait another week before the surgery could be performed,” she retells.
Following the surgery at the Port Moresby General Hospital, Poio underwent 28 days of radio-therapy (radiation therapy) at St Vincent’s Hospital in Sydney, Australia.
The goal of radiation therapy is to destroy cancer cells and slow tumour growth without harming nearby healthy tissues.
Poio says she owes it to a European sister who she knew only as Sr. Joseph.
Sr Joseph successfully secured the assistance of Air Niugini for a free flight for Poio and half rate for Poio’s eldest daughter Susan, who accompanied her.
Sr Joseph also established contact with the oncologist in Australia.
“The team in Australia were very friendly as well. They explained everything to me very carefully and were always cheerful. They were never racist, they told me to go back for yearly reviews for the next five years,” she said.
The next bad news came sooner than expected in 1995 when she was diagnosed again with endometrial cancer.
The uterus is a hollow organ in females located in the pelvis, commonly called the womb, functions to support fetal development until birth.
Poio remembers not being scared when she was told she had to undergo another surgery to remove her uterus.
“I knew it had to be done if I wanted to live,” she said.
She went under the blade again at St Vincent’s in Sydney by the same medical team from the previous year, spending four days in the hospital.
Because of her quick reaction to a small, insignificant looking lump, Poio is still alive now but without two vital female parts - her right breast and uterus.
“Managing to keep alive is because I took heed of my doctors’ advice to keep myself happy and cheerful always,” she says.
She stopped her tamoxifen dosage (medicine used to treat breast cancer in women or men and also other kinds of cancer) and has since been doing things that keep her happy like listening to music, sewing and doing church work.
“Proverbs 17:22 - A cheerful heart is good medicine, that’s been my medicine and I share that with all cancer patients I meet. I try to make them happy as well so they can live longer,” she says.
Twenty-two years on now, Poio’s eldest daughter Susan looks to her mother as a symbol of strength.
“I see her like the song that goes – Strength of a Woman – that’s where I see her. I know I’m not like her, she’s stronger than me,” Susan laughs.
One can only imagine what a 19-year-old daughter, straight out of school and 8 months into her first job with Kina Securities, went through when her mother broke the news to the family.
“When she told us she had cancer, I was confused. We thought, that’s it, she will die. And for her to leave us while we are still young, that was a scary thing to even imagine.
“Even now, whenever she feels weak, we are scared she might suddenly leave us but she is strong and still here,” Susan said.
Susan has created a stronger bond with her mother since leaving her job to travel as guardian. She was the guide, the translator, the one beside her mother during the ordeal.
And now, Susan fears that she and her daughter Erica might inherit the cancer genes from her mother.
But Poio’s advice to everyone is: “When you are suspicious, go quickly to the hospital and have it checked by a professional. Agree if they say to remove it and don’t be afraid, it’s for your own good. Cancer grows when you worry.
“Look at me, I thought I will never get to see my grandchildren. Now I have Erica (10) and Mackheila (7) from my two eldest children.”
Poio is a regular face at the cancer ward at the Port Moresby General Hospital. If she is not checking out any suspicious lumps or pains, she is bringing home-baked scones to patients and encouraging them.
She was guest speaker one time at a Daffodil Day event in PNG, an internationally recognised day to celebrate the hope that one can and will defeat cancer.
Poio currently has diabetes and high blood pressure, which is monitored very closely by her family, and recently diagnosed with Hernia, for the third time. She is partially deaf in both ears and has slightly poor sight.
(Poio at her home at Gordon, National Capital District.)
