BREAST FIGHT : Doctors Urged Surgery for Suspected Cancer But Georgina Refused and Proved Them Wrong

Retired Lieutenant Colonel Georgina Mensah says she firmly refused a recommendation to remove her breast after doctors suspected that a rapidly growing lump was cancerous during her military training.

Mensah, popularly known as “Grandma Soja,” made the revelation in an interview with Kafui Dey, recounting one of the most frightening medical experiences she faced while training at the Ghana Military Academy.

According to her, she had noticed a small lump in her breast before joining the academy. At the time, a doctor who examined her reportedly told her that the lump was movable and was not malignant.

But after she began military training, Mensah said the lump grew rapidly.

“When I got to the GMA from Germany, I had a small lump like this in this breast,” she recalled.

“Within some few weeks, my lump has developed to about a tennis ball.”

Mensah eventually reported sick during training and was referred from the military clinic to the 37 Military Hospital, where doctors decided to remove the lump.

She said that after a review, she was told the lump was cancerous and that removing her breast was necessary.

Her response was immediate. “I said, ‘Sir, I’m sorry. I’m not getting rid of my breast,’” she recalled.

“I said I would rather die than get my breast taken off”, she added.

Mensah said she repeatedly rejected the proposed procedure and insisted that she wanted a second opinion.

“I said, ‘You are not scooping anything, sir. I won’t get rid of my breast. If I’m at risk, let me go home ,’” she said.

She maintained that the way the lump had developed did not convince her that she had cancer.

“I don’t think I have cancer,” she said. “Cancer doesn’t grow like a muscle. That’s how my lump grew.”

Mensah said the dispute eventually led her to seek another medical opinion, which she believes prevented her from being forced to leave the military.

According to Mensah, she eventually completed her military training and continued her career.

Years later, she said, the doctor who had initially told her that the lump was cancerous saw her again and examined her.

“He said, ‘You have beaten medical,’” Mensah recalled.

She said the breast remains intact and that she has never experienced pain from the lump.

Her experience also became the subject of gossip within the barracks, with some soldiers reportedly believing that she had lost a breast.

Mensah recalled one incident when a female friend saw her changing clothes and confirmed that both breasts were still there.

The episode, she said, became another chapter in a military career marked by her determination to stand her ground.