Friends and fellow cancer survivors Melahat Kaymak and Meryem Alevli sat beside each other in a bustling hall, and reflected on the moment when their lives changed forever.
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The Turkish-born Illawarra women were diagnosed with cancer around the same time in 2019. For 53-year-old Melahat, it was a shock bowel cancer diagnosis.
"I had no symptoms, I wasn't expecting that to ever happen," she said. "It was the worst moment of my life."
Soon after, Melahat endured surgeries and chemotherapy, and quickly realised how difficult it was for the Illawarra's migrant women to access information and support about cancer.
She now works for the Multicultural Communities Council of Illawarra and Sisters Cancer Support Group (SCSG) to empower and inform women of culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds on the insidious disease.
She translates vital health information to others and her assistance makes a world of difference to women like Meryem, 75, who was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2019.
"She's a very good helper," Meryem said, smiling at Melahat.
The pair were among the Turkish, Arabic, Macedonian, and Burmese women who attended a cancer screening education event in Dapto on Friday, where survivors shared their stories and hands-on demonstrations were held.
The gathering also featured educational stalls, including one focused on nutrition ran by Lina Baytieh, a clinical dietitian and vice-chair of SCSG.
"This event is so important because people from multicultural backgrounds do not access health services like they should," Lina said.
"And the reason is because of the language and cultural barriers."
Lina said she has seen firsthand that women from CALD communities suffer poorer health outcomes due to these barriers, which is also recognised in the NSW Government's 2022-2027 Cancer Plan.
This cancer plan was designed by more than 800 people who contributed their experience to set the direction of cancer control and deliver better health outcomes.
Mount Pleasant woman and founder of SCSG Nyan Thit Tieu was one of those people.
The Burma-born stage three breast cancer survivor was on the cancer plan's reference committee, and helped another Burmese woman share her story to the board.
"They didn't realise how bad it actually was for culturally diverse women with cancer who were trying to access information," Thit said.
"Now this is one of the plan's focuses.
"Once that woman had an interpreter, she was able to open right up and get the help she needed."
For eight years, Thit has held regular meetings and events to help migrant women in the Illawarra stay in touch with others with cancer.
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As she looked around the room on Friday, Thit knew it was events like these that helped women feel less alone and empowered them to make informed decisions.
"I am just thrilled that we got so many ladies that have come forward to learn from us," she said.
"This is really what they need, a safe place with language support ... and to understand what is happening when you're doing screening.
"These activities really help our multicultural women to be more confident in themselves and advocate for what they want and need for their bodies."
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Grace Crivellaro
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
Court reporter for the Illawarra Mercury.
