Author Archives: Mia Khatib

2 Kids, 1 Experience

Posted on March 10, 2021 by Mia Khatib

Battling cancer is a traumatic experience for the patient and their loved ones, regardless of age. Have you ever thought about what it is like to be a child with a mother battling breast cancer? Here lies a recollection by two young adults, DJ Reed and Emma De Suyrot, about what it was like to be a 7 or 8 year-old with a mother who is battling breast cancer. 
Today, DJ is 21 and Emma is 20. Both are college juniors studying in Boston, MA. DJ is a New Yorker, through and through, while Emma is French-Japanese and was raised in …

 

Dana-Farber Patient Stays Positive Through Metastatic Breast Cancer

Posted on November 5, 2020 by Mia Khatib

At 29 years old, Adriana, 38, of Massachusetts, was diagnosed with metastatic (stage four) breast cancer after noticing a lump in her breast and feeling some “strange symptoms.” Only three months after a move across the country, Adriana was told her best bet would be to move back home for her treatment. “I talked to some doctors down in Florida, and they said to me, ‘You’re not going to get good care down here, if you’re from Massachusetts, go back to Dana-Farber’” said Adriana. “Within a few months, I had moved to Florida, packed up my bags and went back …

 

Rania Samaha: Mother, Caretaker, Patient

Posted on October 21, 2020 by Mia Khatib

If you read about Dina Sabra’s experience with breast cancer, I’m sure you remember her cousin and caretaker, Rania Samaha. Like Dina, breast cancer has played a huge role in Rania’s life. 
Rania As a Caretaker
Rania, is a caretaker to the maximum extent of the word. As a 9 year old, Rania was giving her diabetic mother diabetes shots and joined her mother in every hospital room her mother has ever been in. As a newlywed, Rania took in her father-in-law and looked after him until he passed of colon cancer 3 years later. As a 33 year old, Rania dropped …

 

Share Your Story: Dina Sabra (Part 2/2)

Posted on October 5, 2020 by Mia Khatib

Within 10 days of being diagnosed with DCIS breast cancer, Dina Sabra was off to Lenox Hill Long Island Jewish Hospital in the Upper East Side for a bilateral mastectomy and reconstructive surgery. Despite Dina’s Canadian citizenship and lack of insurance in the US, she chose to undergo her operation in the States because she would be treated much quicker as a patient paying out-of-pocket. Initially, the hospital wanted to keep Dina around for a few months before her operation, but they ended up being able to schedule her in three and a half weeks after her arrival. “I guess …

 

Share Your Story: Dina Sabra (Part 1/2)

Posted on September 30, 2020 by Mia Khatib

“In my mind, it was always a matter of, not if but, when,” said Dina Sabra, Canadian-Egyptian breast cancer survivor. With breast cancer making an appearance in her maternal family history for over three consecutive generations, Dina knew breast cancer would be an unwelcome visitor in her life one day; however, she didn’t expect the visit to come so soon. Dina’s grandmother, mother and aunt all battled breast cancer post-menopause, prompting Dina’s shock when her battle came at age 36. 
As a result of her family’s relationship with breast cancer, Dina routinely visited a breast specialist in Dubai, UAE, where she, …