Thanks to EEWAY Lebanon, Minister Violette Khairallah Safadi, and Amal Elias Sleiman who chose our initiative “You are Stronger” to help us empower women with cancer, we had the great joy of spending time with pilot and breast cancer survivor Amanda Harrison during her recent stop in Beirut.
Amanda, who overcame dyslexia to become a commercial airline pilot, is realizing her long-time dream of flying solo to Darwin in her vintage de Havilland Tiger Moth plane to inspire women and breast cancer survivors to achieve great things in their lives.
Please tell us about your breast cancer journey.
Well, my mom had breast cancer 14 years ago. At the time, we didn’t think it ran in the family because my nana (grandmother) never mentioned it. In those days, cancer was not openly discussed and only quietly referred to as “the big C”. However, one day my nana surprisingly told us that my auntie and other female family members also had breast cancer. This made me realize that we had the cancer gene in the family and prompted me to start regularly checking myself, which is what saved me.
In November 2017, I found a lump during my self-examination and went to have it checked straight away. Because I found early, the stage 4 cancer hadn’t yet metastasized, so I didn’t need to have chemotherapy and radiotherapy. Instead, I underwent two surgeries to have a double mastectomy, and later reconstructive surgery. It took months before I could return to flying.
Although some people told me that I’ve come through amazingly, I don’t think I’ve ever got over cancer. I believe you don’t get over it but that you do come to terms with it.
What advice would you give other breast cancer patients?
I think what happens is that most of us try to be strong for the people around us. What you actually need to do is to feel all of your emotions.
After one of my surgeries, everything was hurting, drains were hanging out, and I felt like everything was going wrong. A wonderful oncology nurse looked at me and asked me how I was doing. And I just burst into tears and asked her if she could make it stop. And she said” “Well, thank God for that.”, happy that I was finally releasing some of my emotions.
So, allow yourself time to absorb the shock of the diagnosis and to experience all of your emotions.
In fact, I had counseling to help get my mind around it all. I told my counselor that I’m a very ambitious person and their reply was that I should continue to be ambitious but to focus on things I could realistically do. For example, one of my ambitions became brushing my teeth once a day. Since I had a double mastectomy, I literally couldn’t do anything and brushing my teeth, or my hair became a major accomplishment.
Also, be careful not to become a victim. With cancer, it’s very easy to become and stay a victim and there may be family members or friends who will treat you like one. Make sure to surround yourself with people who offer you the support you need and help improve your quality of life and recovery. Sometimes you need to be quite firm; I’ve even asked a few people to just leave me alone as I needed to deal with it in my own way.
It’s so many small, little things that can help you get through. The counseling side of things was brilliant, and I also did acupuncture, physical therapy, and changed my diet, among other things. It’s a combination of things and you should work to find the one that works best for you.
Why did you use acupuncture?
I was getting lots of hot flushes and it was actually my oncologist who suggested I try acupuncture. He told me that although there is no scientific proof, lots of ladies had been helped with acupuncture. I tried it and it worked well for me.
You also told us you had lymphatic drainage massage.
Yes, I’ve had lots of lymph drainage massages because I had a couple of lymph nodes removed and also because I had three major surgeries. It’s not like your treatment is done and you just get over it one day and you’re fixed. You really need to ask yourself “What do I need to do today? It’s truly is a call for a healthier lifestyle.
What are the main changes you made to your diet? And how did you know that eating differently could help?
It was my oncologist again, he asked if I could eat a Mediterranean diet. Well, that was easy, I love Mediterranean food! Cutting out alcohol and sugar helped a lot. I must admit that I still have the occasional piece of chocolate.
I’ve also fasted and have noticed that eating late at night causes very bad hot flashes, so I am working now to follow the biological clock and to at least fast one day each week. It’s not always easy to do, but I actually feel better for it.
What about your history with flying and why did you decide to make this trip?
Well, we were talking about the reasons why we get cancer and if it is related to emotions and things that happened in your past. Actually, my father died nine days after my big surgery, and he was the one who inspired my passion for flying.
He was an engineer who loved to build remote control airplane models. And I just thought: “Well, why don’t I follow in my dad’s footsteps?” And then I was very fortunate to have a flight lesson at age 14. As soon as I left the ground, I experienced this amazing sense of freedom, I felt it touch with myself and the world. It’s difficult to truly describe the feeling to you now but I still experience that same wonderful feeling each time I fly.
So back to when I was 14, after that first flight I wanted to learn how to fly. I saved up money for my lessons. Although I’m dyslexic, my parents encouraged me to read and I started reading about these amazing people who made amazing trips in the 1930s, right at the start of aviation. They flew around the world in these little strips of wooden string airplanes, and I was deeply impressed.
However, they were always “Lady this” or “Lord that” and so they all had lots and lots of money. And then came along Amy Johnson, a woman not born into a wealthy family who had to work for her living, her trip, and after she completed the trip, with health problems of her own, and a sister who took her own life. Amy made the same solo flight from England to Darwin and showed me that passion, drive, and perseverance can help ordinary women achieve remarkable things.
I also truly feel that I’m just an ordinary person, convinced that life is for living. I learned that when my mom had breast cancer and I thought I might lose her. I learned we need to truly live, do what we’re passionate about, and try to make the best of it.
So, Amy Johnson inspired me to make the same trip, flying solo to Darwin. I started planning for the trip but then my dad got ill, I was diagnosed with cancer, and my dad passed away shortly after my first surgery. After I came out of all this, I thought “You know what, I’ve got just about enough money to get down to Australia and although I don’t know what will happen when I get to Australia, why not start the journey, why not just do it?” Life just seemed to be telling me that I needed to do things now.
I went ahead, using my long dreamt of solo flight to Darwin in Amy Johnson’s footsteps to hopefully inspire women and breast cancer survivors. I would not be sitting here today if I hadn’t regularly checked myself and I’m shocked to know how many women, around the world, don’t examine themselves.
It’s been an amazing journey so far; I’ve met and shared experiences with many incredible women. Lebanon has just been amazing, the people I’ve met have been so hospitable and I can’t say I’ve enjoyed the Mediterranean diet anywhere else as much as I did here.
Cancer can be like flying – you don’t always know when you will reach your destination but eventually you will get there. I urge all women to take care of their bodies and to regularly perform self-examination. If you find a lump, it doesn’t necessarily mean the end of the world. Many women have overcome great obstacles and made major achievements in their lives. It is my hope that my journey will inspire women; I will be happy even if it’s just one single woman.
