Deputy Prime Minister Bradshaw Shares Breast Cancer Journey in Intimate Conversation

Reflecting on that time, Bradshaw shared that going public helped immensely with her recovery, and left an empowering feeling that allowed her to express the truth of her condition.

While undergoing treatment at the Baptist Health Miami Cancer Institute in Miami, Florida, she maintained her duties as Minister of Education. Each day she would go to the hospital with her laptop in hand and conduct meetings while the nurses and doctors administered the chemotherapy.

“Radiation, for those who’ve been through it, makes you very tired. So there were some days, even when I came back to Barbados and I would go to the ministry, I couldn’t get past two o’clock in the day. I would get tired and feel like I’m falling asleep talking. So I was forced, in terms of my body, in terms of finding balance,” she said.

“Professionally, I wondered how is the public going to view a young MP coming into politics. Now a minister with a huge ministry like education, and how are they going to view my absence from Barbados. How am I going to continue working? I think the best advice that I was given by my doctor in Miami was to keep working through the treatment.

“She told me keep walking, keep exercising, make sure you eat right, do all the things that I was accustomed to doing. But if I felt tired, pause, stop, rest. I was already free inside as to not worry what people thought about what I was going through so there was no shame.

“It was like we got an agenda to get this education system transformed, and that’s what you all sent me to do. That’s what I’m going to do. Whether I’m sick or not,” she added.

Throughout this uncertain time, Bradshaw said she did her best not to fall into fear or despair and turned to faith as a way to stay grounded. The support of her family is also something she also credits for keeping her grounded.

The minister’s decision to seek treatment outside of Barbados was a choice that drew some scrutiny, something which she has longed wished to address.

She explained that the decision to stay in Miami was motivated by several factors. Chief among them was that the recommended round of treatment was not available on the island, and secondly was the support of the medical team which she grew to be comfortable with and ensured a speedy return to her duties at the ministry.

Reflecting on her experience at the Miami Cancer Institute, Bradshaw stressed the need for improvements within the local health care system’s approach to patients with the disease.

“This is a fundamental thing that we are missing in Barbados, where a lot of times I’ve encountered people who don’t actually know what to expect when they’re going through chemo. They are told this is what you have to do, but nobody sits down with you sometimes and goes through the details of how your body will change, how your mind will change. If you’re going to be constipated, what do you take; if you’re going to have a runny stool, what do you use.

“There is a way to deliver treatment to people in Barbados that allows them to be armed with the information. I think we just need to take the time to look at the best practices outside and to find ways now to be able to implement that system within our system as well.”

By sharing her story, she hopes to offer a guiding light to those battling the disease, and also to encourage the public to listen to their body for signs when something is wrong, and avoid placing their health on the back burner.

“I knew that a time would come when I would be able to speak to people in this way from a place of comfort, but also a place where I’ve just lost too many people along the way who were diagnosed too late. And if I don’t say anything as Santia, not as the Prime Minister, the Acting Prime Minister, Leader of Government Business or Minister of Public Works, then I’m doing them an injustice.

“I’m doing the people who are thinking that something is wrong, but aren’t quite sure what to do, an injustice. If I say nothing, if I remain silent, I’m doing the ones who are going through treatment an injustice,” she stated.