Susan Malik – A fighter’s journey through breast cancer

For two years, Susan Malik lived with breast cancer without knowing it. There were no obvious symptoms—no lumps, no alarming signs—just a lingering pain in her chest that came and went. She had no idea that deep inside her body, something was growing, waiting to be discovered.
The day everything changed, she was in class, focused on her lesson, when a sudden, sharp pain shot through her breast. It was unlike anything she had felt before. That was the moment she finally noticed the lump. A cold wave of fear swept over her, but she pushed it aside.
Her first medical visits gave her little reason to worry. The doctors dismissed it as just breast pain and prescribed medication. But the pain didn’t go away—it worsened. Each time she returned, she was met with the same answer. Deep down, she knew something wasn’t right.
Trusting her instincts, she sought a second opinion from a doctor friend. He listened carefully, examined her, and then referred her to a specialist. The specialist took one look at her test results and said something that changed her life forever: “I suspect breast cancer.”
However, Susan just responded nonchalantly: “Okay,” she said, “I want to accept it, but I’ll fight it.”
Breaking the News and Preparing for Battle
Telling her loved ones was one of the hardest things she had to do. She first broke the news to her husband, who she says has been very supportive throughout the journey. She called her sisters, too, but they broke down on the other end of the call. She knew this would change all their lives.
Determined to face cancer head-on, she made a symbolic decision—she cut her dreadlocks. They had been a part of her identity for years, but now, she was stepping into a new phase of life, one that demanded courage and resilience. She spent hours reading about breast cancer, preparing herself for the battle ahead.
Her treatment plan was aggressive—mastectomy, chemotherapy, and radiotherapy. It would be two and a half years of pain, exhaustion, and uncertainty. But Susan was ready.
The Struggles of Treatment
The journey was brutal. Chemotherapy drained her body, making her weak, nauseous, and exhausted. There were days when she couldn’t recognise herself in the mirror. Her throat became so raw that even swallowing water felt like swallowing fire.
And then, there were the medical errors.
At one point, she was given the wrong drugs. Healthcare workers were overwhelmed, and stretched thin by the demands of so many patients. “I salute all my oncology doctors,” Susan said. “They are trying for us.”
But mistakes happened. The pharmacist who first caught the wrong prescription later gave her an overdose of another medication. That night, her husband found her unconscious. She had dozed off, her body unable to handle the excess medication. Panicked, he rushed her to the hospital.
As if battling cancer wasn’t enough, her sugar levels began to rise dangerously. Every time she thought she had one fight under control, another challenge appeared.
Choosing to Stay Positive
Through it all, Susan refused to give in to despair. “My life has always been about facing things head-on,” she said. “This was no different.”
She didn’t spare cancer at all. Every round of chemo, every sleepless night, every moment of pain—she fought back with everything she had. She prayed, she believed, and she held on to hope.
And then, one day, the storm began to pass. The treatments, the pain, the endless hospital visits—it all started to slow down.
She had survived.
Cancer had taken so much from her, but it had not taken her.
A New Beginning
Susan’s journey changed her forever. She came out stronger, more determined, and more grateful for life than ever before. She now shares her story to remind others that breast cancer doesn’t always come with a lump. It doesn’t always show its face early. But when it does, the battle is not just about medicine—it’s about resilience, faith, and the will to fight.
“Through it all, God came through,” she told Bullet TV’s ‘Morning Target’ co-hosted by Seli Acolatse Apaloo and Nana Yaw Fianko on Tuesday, 4 January 2025.
Susan, who had earlier planned to set up a prostate cancer foundation in honour of her late father who died from the disease, then decided to change the foundation into a breast cancer foundation to help her fellow vulnerable women who were fighting breast cancer.
Through the MaudLokko Breast Cancer Foundation, she has been able to bring hope to several women with breast cancer through chemotherapy support and in other psychological and emotional ways.