A high school English teacher, Jana Hurter was living as a blissful newlywed at the prime of her life. “I was marking papers at my coffee table and when I went to scratch an itch, I noticed a lump in my breast,” she remembers. Because she has a history of breast cancer in her family, she immediately called her mom. After a long chat, they both agreed that it would be best if she made an appointment to have it looked at.
“They did a biopsy and initially they said that it wasn’t cancer, but they weren’t sure what it was,” she explains. “I had convinced myself that I wasn’t going to go back because I didn’t care what it was as long as it wasn’t cancer.”
After some gentle pushing from her aunts who both beat their own battles with breast cancer, she went back and after the second biopsy, they told her that she had stage 2 breast cancer.
“The thing is that after testing they told me that the breast cancer I had wasn’t, in fact, genetic but hormonal, which is why I want to be a part of initiatives like #PinkDiaries so that I can tell others that it isn’t just something that you should only worry about if you have a family history of it.” She says that throughout her treatment, she found comfort in her students and staying creative.
She started keeping a detailed record of everything she was going through and created an Instagram page where she openly shared her journey with others. “I always tell people, if laughter is the best medicine then creativity is the best therapy.” One year after her diagnosis, she was given the good news – she was cancer-free.
Strawberry Lips is South Africa's top selling tequila-laced strawberry liqueur, a ready-to-pour drink loved by women around the country. As a fiercely feminine brand, it’s always at the forefront of women’s causes, including breast cancer awareness. In celebration of their 2020 campaign #PinkDiaries, they’re giving away five bottles of Strawberry Lips Tequila for you to share with your squad.
To stand a chance to win, all you have to do is fill in your details below;
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