Fiji-Indian Meenal Dewakar is hosting a ‘Pink Ribbon Breakfast’ in honour of her cousin Priti, who lost her long battle with breast cancer in 2019. The event is Breast Cancer Foundation NZ’s largest annual fundraising campaign, and the money collected is used to fund breast cancer education, research and patient support.
Dewakar is planning to host an afternoon tea at her Auckland home with her colleagues and family and friends on May 20, 2023.
“This is my first time hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast event; hence I aim to generate as much as possible. It is my tribute to my cousin, who has been more than a sister to me. I believe through personal experience that women in our community are hesitant or shy to speak about breast cancer. Most women do not come forward for breast examination until it's too late,” she says.
Remembering Priti, who used to stay in Fiji, Meenal says, “Priti was my best friend, soul sister, and partner in crime. Priti was a single mom of two beautiful daughters who both call me mom. She even let me choose the names of both of her beautiful daughters. Seeing such a strong person she was, has always inspired me. I was very close to her. One day she called me and told me she had a lump in her breast. Trying not to think anything negative, I told her to get a biopsy done. Her result showed she had breast cancer.”
Priti began her treatment and found undergoing chemo was the toughest challenge, Dewakar recalls, adding her sister was a fighter.
“She fought the battle through chemo, then through a double mastectomy. The mastectomy healed. We were all relieved and thought the worst was over, only to find out that the cancer relapsed, and doctors informed us it had spread and suggested palliative care.”
But Priti’s family didn't want to give up just yet. They collected funds and sent her to India for medical treatment, where doctors administered further chemo and radiography but later advised her to return to Fiji for palliative care. “We lost her in 2019. I closed myself. I would not discuss her with anyone because I couldn't,” Dewakar says.
She says all women should come forward and get examined if they notice any abnormalities in their breasts, whether as minor as the difference in shape or change in colour. “The earlier breast cancers get detected, the better it is. The ladies in our community should know how to breast-examine at home,” she says.
When asked what the government should be doing to raise awareness and prevent breast cancer, she says, “I believe mammograms should be free to anyone over the age of 35.” Currently, women over 45 are eligible for free mammograms every two years.
Ah-Leen Rayner, Chief Executive of Breast Cancer Foundation NZ, says the charity is grateful to every Pink Ribbon Breakfast host because all of their efforts will make a big difference.
“With one in nine women diagnosed with breast cancer, we all have someone in our lives who has been affected. By hosting a Pink Ribbon Breakfast, you’ll be helping us to achieve our ambitious vision of zero deaths from breast cancer – so that we don’t tragically lose any more of our women to this disease,” Rayner says.