Woman says her cat found her breast cancer

By Ashley Pemberton via SWNS

A pet cat saved her owner’s life by scratching at her chest to alert her to a cancerous lump.

Saima Afzal’s beloved Kat - a Maine Coone/Tabby mix breed - kept kneading and pushing the same spot and kept trying to lie on her chest despite being pushed away.

He would climb on her chest, causing severe pain in her right breast and under her arm for months.

Saima, 52, initially put the pain down to a previous diagnosis of Pleurisy but discovered a lump that she says she wouldn’t have found otherwise and was diagnosed with breast cancer.

She then underwent a lumpectomy and further surgery to remove her lymph nodes and says Kat saved her life.

Amazingly, the cat wasn’t even originally hers as she took him in when her brother was forced to leave him behind when he went off to uni and her other sisters have allergies.

She said: “I’m just glad to be here. I think it was fate. Imagine if I hadn’t answered the phone to my brother that day? I think he was meant to be in my life.

“I took him in and he returned the favor by saving my life.

“He was doing it for a while, I was getting pains in my neck and headaches and I couldn’t figure out why. It turns out it was because of the way the tumors were growing.

“He basically pinpointed the lump. He kept kneading and pushing in the same area.

"He’d sit on my belly and on my chest and I would push him off because it was causing more pain.”

Saima, a criminologist and activist specializing in violence against women and girls, rang her GP in May 2017.

She was sent for tests which discovered stage two, grade 1 invasive ductal cancer the following month.

She had the lump removed and all the lymph nodes under her right arm and underwent a course of radiotherapy. She is also on Estrogen blockers.

Saima, of Blackburn, Lancs., said: “I wasn’t even supposed to have him, I got him off my brother.

“He was off to university and they weren’t allowed pets there and my other sisters have allergies so he couldn’t stay at my mum and dad’s house.

“At first, I was allergic too, but I didn't have the heart to send him to a rescue charity because I had read somewhere how so many cats need to be culled as charities can't cope.

“So I stockpiled my antihistamine and he’s been my beautiful little baby ever since.”

Since her diagnosis, Saima has been left with permanent nerve damage around the right side of her body and her eyesight is poor due to the medication she has to take.

She was helped by colleagues from her non-profit organization S.A.S Rights, which she set up in 2016 to give a voice and offer practical support to Muslim women.

It offers a range of services including well-being sessions, counseling, exercise classes and beyond.

The group now offers weekly exercise lessons - including Zumba, cycling and online aerobics - after Saima achieved her bucket list ambition of learning to ride a bike.

Saima added: “I was fortunate enough to be able to afford support after the diagnosis but what about all those that can’t? It is here for anyone who needs help.

“I know how tough it is to struggle, recovery isn’t cheap - so I try and make sure that others who need help aren’t held back because of money.

“When I got ill I really focused on the group and helped it to grow We’re a group of women who help each other and they really helped me and it has grown.

“Maybe it wouldn’t have grown as fast if I didn’t get cancer.”

Visit https://sasrights.org/ to find out more about Saima's organization.