Husband, wife go head-to-head with cancer

Cancer survivor Lina Dakak's message to others fighting cancer: It is tough but it is important to remain positive.

Dubai - As the husband of a cancer survivor, Imad said the biggest thing friends and family can do to loved ones fighting the disease is ensure they know they "are not alone"

Imad Dakak doesn't have cancer. He has never had cancer, but cancer has played a big part in his life. When his wife of 23 years, Lina, was diagnosed with stage 2 breast cancer in 2013, he fought the battle with her.
 "If you don't support them or conquer the disease with them, it will be so much harder for them," he told Khaleej Times during the 'Give From The Heart to Friends of Cancer Patients (FoCP)' charity fundraiser in Dubai on Sunday.
As the husband of a cancer survivor, Imad said the biggest thing friends and family can do to loved ones fighting the disease is ensure they know they "are not alone".47-year-old Lina Dakak was diagnosed with mucinous breast cancer - a rare type of invasive ductal cancer that accounts for less than 2 per cent of all breast cancers.
She vividly remembers the first time she heard news of her diagnoses. It was just two years after one mammogram result showed up clear. "I couldn't talk about it. It was so hard for me and I didn't tell my mother or father in Lebanon. I didn't want to upset them."With no family history of the disease and no obvious signs of a lump, the news was difficult to swallow. But with three daughters aged 17, 12, and 7, at the time, Lina took on a proactive approach to cancer.
Within the space of 20 days, over two surgeries, surgeons removed the tumour, performed a mastectomy on her right breast and replaced it with an implant."Thankfully I did not have to undergo any chemotherapy," she said. Now three years into a five-year course of hormone therapy, Lina is sharing her story with the UAE in a bid to build awareness on breast cancer. "If I speak, I can help others. I want to be an agent of change. To women battling cancer: it is tough but it is so important to remain positive."