Enid Bernard at 100

Had it not been for early detection, Enid Bernard, a centenarian breast cancer survivor, does not believe she would have made it to her 100th birthday in April.

Bernard, a retired teacher from Winchester Primary School in St Thomas and later Harbour View All-Age School in Kingston, where she worked until her retirement, told The Sunday Gleaner on Friday that she could not remember the exact date she found the first lump in her breast, but it could have been in the 1960s or earlier while living in St Thomas and teaching at John’s Town Primary School.

At that time, technology was not as readily available as it is today, and she had to travel to Kingston to do her surgery. While silently going through her battle, as a mother of two at the time, she said she told the principal, who sprang into action.

“She said if the doctor said you must cut it off, go quickly - and don’t bother say you did tell me - just go when you are ready, and when you don’t come, I will realise that you are gone,” Bernard said.

Bernard found her lump through self-examination.

“I was in St Thomas then when I felt the lump, and I went to the doctor, and he said, ‘We have to take it out’, but it was a very early stage. The doctor said, ‘It was just coming on’. I never felt any pain [at the time]. I was showering, and I felt [it], and I went to the doctor because I didn’t know exactly what it was. Mi just feel di lump in di breast, and I went to the doctor, and he did the examination, and he said, ‘It is just coming on. It’s just a few months, so it’s not very serious,” Bernard said.

“The doctor did the test at the same place up St Thomas, and then I told the principal, and she said we had to go to Kingston for the surgery,” she recalled.

Now that she has lived to see her 100th year, and although one of her children predeceased her, she is still excited about life and said she feels like she is a young person again. Bernard continues to enjoy life to the fullest, blessed with all five senses intact, embracing each moment with gratitude.

She also boasts of her ability to travel alone, via bus, from her home to downtown Kingston. However, her 60-year-old son, Ludlow, has insisted that she not leave the house unaccompanied. On Friday, she went to the supermarket herself before arriving home for her interview, and while speaking with the team, she was cooking and paused to turn her stove off.

“I don’t feel any different. The only thing is the eyes because the eyes are giving me trouble, but I can go about the same way. I still cook. I still clean the floor. I do not do much ironing because I have to avoid the heat. I do all the housework,” Bernard proudly shared.

According to the secretariat at the Jamaica Reach to Recovery, Bernard was an active member until recent times when her son insisted that she slow down because of age.

The centenarian, however, still attends the St Boniface Church in Harbour View, where she has been recognised for faithful and dedicated service to the Sunday school ministry.

She advises all women and men to feel their breasts and chest while showering or taking a bath.

ainsworth.morris@gleanerjm.com