Martina Fenech successfully lobbied the government to help provide insurance cover for cancer survivors. She tells Mark Laurence Zammit about her fight against a deadly disease – and the discrimination it left behind.

Martina Fenech lost her mother to cancer when she was 15. Two months after her mother’s death, she was diagnosed with cancer herself and survived. Four years later she lost her boyfriend to cancer.

Martina recalls her mother’s last breaths, as she sat beside her bed during the New Year’s Eve countdown.

“She died at Boffa Hospital and we could hear fireworks going off as she was passing away,” she told Times of Malta.

“When I was diagnosed with cancer two months later, I dreamt about her, and she told me, ‘You will make it,’ and I believe that is what gave me the courage to survive.”

Fenech was only three years old when her mother was diagnosed with breast cancer. The 11-year-long battle took a toll on the entire family and Martina says back then they found little to no help.

“I had already been feeling unwell when she passed away, but we had no idea my ordeal was just beginning,” she said.

“I remember how shocked I felt when I got the news. It is a horrible feeling, but the only thing I could do was to live day by day.”

Martina was healed after a nine-month struggle with cancer in her brain’s nerves. She has been cancer-free ever since.

“My last chemotherapy session was nine years ago yesterday.”

Martina remained an active volunteer at Puttinu Cares, even after her battle was over, and that is where she met Jerome. She was 17.

“We used to hang out together a lot and our friendship eventually transformed into a relationship,” she said.

Jerome had already been battling a severe cancer, and Martina says he was troubled by the thought of what might happen in the future.

“He wasn’t worried about himself. Rather, he was concerned about me and how it would affect me if he were to pass away as well.

“He felt guilty he would have to leave me. He would say, ‘I know you already look for your mother only to realise she’s not there, and I don’t want you to look for your boyfriend only to realise he left you as well.’

“We knew time was precious, so we spent most of it together, campaigning for cancer fundraising and awareness,” she said, recalling the beautiful poems he used to write for her.

Losing Jerome

Having gone through the suffering of her mother and herself, Martina could tell her boyfriend’s health was deteriorating. She had planned to spend some time studying abroad but she suspended her studies to spend as much time with him as possible.

I know many cancer survivors who do not stand a chance of obtaining a loan

Eventually, Jerome succumbed to cancer.

“We were beside his bed when he passed away. The last thing he told us was, ‘I love you all, remember me as you have always known me.’”

Following her troubled past, Martina decided to undergo medical tests to determine whether she was genetically at risk of being diagnosed with her mother’s cancer.

She was, and at 21 she decided to remove her breasts, to reduce the risk as much as possible.

“I did the operation exactly on the first anniversary of Jerome’s death. Sometimes I wonder how come I was the only survivor among the three of us.

“I promised my mother and my boyfriend I will never stop working for cancer patients, and I have kept my promise.”

No longer taboo, but stigmatised nonetheless

Martina is now 24 years old. She heads a training institution and she is dedicated to research and campaigning about the hardships of life after cancer. She will graduate with a Master’s degree in a few months.

“Cancer isn’t a taboo anymore because most people have unfortunately gone through it in their families. But cancer survivors are still stigmatised,” she said.

“Most people think life after cancer is a walk in the park because you are healed, but cancer survivors still face many challenges. For one thing, people still perceive cancer survivors as cancer patients.”

Her research revealed that many cancer survivors find it harder to find jobs, for instance. She says employers hesitate to hire them, for fear they might fall ill again and leave the company.

“Many cancer survivors report problems in their romantic relationships as well,” she said.

“It is not uncommon for their partner to occasionally tell them, ‘Listen, if I am ever diagnosed with cancer, please leave me. Do not stay with me, I do not want you to go through that suffering,’ implying they are thinking that if their partner relapses, they are prepared to leave as well.

Financial stresses and no insurance

Martina says that among the myriad of other social problems, her research revealed that financial problems are sometimes the most stressful hardships in their life.

“I know many cancer survivors who do not stand a chance of obtaining a loan, because insurance companies refuse to provide them with insurance,” she said.

“It happened to me as well. I needed to buy a car last year. Not an expensive car, but I still could not get a loan. I had to borrow money from my father.”

One respondent in her research said even though he had been cured of cancer for 18 years, nobody wanted to insure him, and when he finally found one agency who was willing to, they offered an insurance policy that cost three times as much as a normal one.

“Sometimes they tell you they will ‘perhaps consider’ the policy only after they go through all medical records from the time you were born, which to me feels like a violation of privacy rights,” she said.

“The science is clear. Within five years of the day you are cured of cancer, you do stand a higher chance of falling ill again. But once those five years are over, you do not have a higher risk than any other person who has never been diagnosed. So why does society need to keep looking at survivors as if they were still patients?”

Martina is now campaigning to raise awareness about the needs of cancer survivors and has been calling on the authorities to address the issue of insurance refusals.

Last month, Social Accommodation Minister Roderick Galdes said he had met campaigner Mark Anthony Cremona who could not get insurance because of a heart condition he had when he was born.

Back then, the minister said they were working on a solution.

Prime Minister Robert Abela and Galdes announced a €3 million ‘New Hope’ Scheme, which will cover approximately 40 people who every year are refused life insurance because of past illnesses or health conditions.

Abela said he was shocked when he first heard of these stories.

“Can you imagine, having overcome such a hurdle, and then to face doors being closed in your face?” he asked.

Run by the Housing Authority, the scheme will ensure the State will step in as a guarantor for the applicant and provide guarantees to banks to allow them to provide insurance coverage.