Suli Daurewa has shaved off his hair to remember his wife Selina whom he lost 10 months ago to breast cancer.
The father of five has taken on the role of both parents after his wife’s death. He said losing his wife was one of the most painful experiences he encountered in his life.
“My wife was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2016 and we lost her in December last year because her condition deteriorated very fast,” he said.
“A few days ago, I shaved off my hair to remember her because of this Pinktober month and we miss her dearly.
“Even when she was still alive, every time she shaved her hair because of chemo treatment, I’d also shave my hair off to support her.”
The couple were in Lautoka in 2016 when Selina discovered lumps in her left breast and had it medically examined.
At that stage, Suli said doctors had advised her to remove it because it was early stages but wrong advice of herbal treatment influenced her to change her mind.
“She never endured pain in the early stages until 2018 when her right thigh was in pain and she couldn’t walk,” he said.
“We were in Suva and when I took her to the hospital, they wanted to remove her breast right away because they have discovered more cancer cells.
“We made arrangements for the first surgery but she was influenced by wrong advice telling her to go for herbal instead of going through a surgery. So she cancelled the surgery and she went for herbal.”
But this did not help at all. Her condition got worse and she finally gave in to surgery.
“By this time I was furious because we could have done the surgery a few years earlier but she opted for herbal,” Suli said. “However, I didn’t let this affect us because she needed my support and love at that time and I continued to do that.”
After her first surgery in 2018, she felt lumps in her right breast so we took her again to hospital but doctors said it wasn’t cancerous. Doctors removed her right breast as well but it didn’t end there.
“The lumps started going up towards her brains and when they conducted a CT scan, they found the cancer cells in her brains because it had spread,” Suli said.
“My wife went through so much but she never lost hope. She kept praying and I kept supporting and loving her.
“But one thing I want to plead with families and especially husbands to always support and love their wives and loved ones who may be suffering from cancer.”
During the period of supporting his wife who was down with cancer, Suli never noticed the changes in his beloved wife’s physique and facial features.
“I never realised that my wife’s face had slightly changed formation because of the cancer cells in her brains, I never saw the changes in her built and I believe it’s because of the love I had for her,” Suli said.
“One thing I found out being involved with the Fiji Cancer Society was that some husbands leave their wives when they are diagnosed with cancer and it’s sad because family support is important.
“Our marriage is a promise of a life-time to God and we must remember this because it’s in good and bad times. We need to kill that manly ego and stand by our wives.
“I am very grateful to Empower Pacific and my family members for all the support because it helped me overcome my loneliness.”
