Story
It was a warm day in May, but the sun didn't make her feel any better. She had chest pain, felt weak, and couldn't even walk. That was the first time since arriving in Warsaw that Rada Sorochynska collapsed. She ended up in the Emergency Room, where doctors gave her a preliminary and alarming diagnosis: 43-year-old Rada Sorochynska could, in their opinion, have both lung cancer and breast cancer. How could that be?! This information shocked her; she didn't expect to hear the worst news.
Specialists sent her to Otwock for further examinations. She lay in a hospital bed, battling thoughts. What would happen to her 16- and 24-year-old daughters if she didn't make it? The war had already taken their home and forced them to leave the country. They haven't settled in Poland yet, and now this? In the past weeks, she had so much on her mind that she hadn't even thought about getting checked, especially since she felt fine in Ukraine.
The initial suspicions turned out to be false. Her lungs were free from cancer, but after a biopsy, numerous tests, and scans, doctors started suspecting it’s tuberculosis. However, they were correct about the second diagnosis. Rada had breast cancer at such an advanced stage that a double mastectomy was the only option. She agreed to the immediate removal of both breasts.
Previously, she and her family thought the war would be the primary topic of conversation. When her daughters first arrived in Poland in February 2022, they cried a lot, longing for Ukraine, asking, "Mum, take us back home." Rada called her husband, he said, "But what do you want to go back to? Bombs are falling on Zhytomyr." To this day, she hardly knows what happened to their house, as no one from the family has checked on it since leaving. When, a few weeks later, it turned out that their mother was sick, the girls stopped bothering her with requests to return. The older daughter immediately went to work, washing dishes in one of Warsaw's restaurants for 15 hours a day without complaining. The crucial thing was to earn money for her mother's treatment and for her to recover.
She returned home - to the centre assisting refugees on Chmielna Street - after a month and a half of treatment. Still quite weak, but happy because they managed to prevent the further progression of the disease. The nodules visible on the lungs in the X-ray did not disappear, but she continues to undergo examinations.
Once Rada Sorochynska left the hospital, her perspective changed. Towards her health, daily life, and the future. She decided not to dwell on the past or hope that the war in Ukraine would end soon. Action was needed now! While there is life! "I am fortunate," she says, "because I am alive."
Previously in Ukraine? She lived a normal, joyful life in good conditions. She worked with her husband in a thriving family business producing nuts. They harvested tons of them as a family, processed them, and sold them abroad with a profit. They had a beautiful house and garden in Zhytomyr. Neighbours, whether Roma or Ukrainians, lived together in harmony and friendship. The war took it all away; today, she has nothing.
At least, that's what she thought until recently. When she came to Poland with her daughters and sister-in-law, the family ended up in a small town near the border. They were all supposed to pick strawberries; work was waiting for them. However, when the owner of the plot found out that the "Ukrainian refugees" he planned to employ were of Roma origin, he refused and didn't even hide the reason. "I didn't know they were Roma," he explained shortly and didn't change his mind.
Initially, such an experience in her new country was simply unpleasant. It could have clipped her wings. Rada remembers that she was ready, if she could afford it then, to return to Ukraine, to get on the first available bus with her family. Today? "Well, what's done is done," she waves her hand, not even dwelling on those events. Because it’s important that she and her daughters had later ended up in Warsaw, and after recovering, things gradually started falling into place.
Now, just as volunteers helped Rada at the beginning of her stay in Poland, she voluntarily helps those who come to Warsaw from Ukraine. As a mentor at the Foundation Towards Dialogue, she tries to help them get accustomed to the new reality, solve their everyday problems, from planning shopping to filling out paperwork, and finding a home where they can live.
She remembers that initially, she even thought about moving further west. Some family members were in Germany, others in another country, and she wondered if she should join them. But at first, her thinking was that there was no need to venture into the heart of Europe since the war would probably end soon. Only after the diagnosis did she feel that she didn't want to wait anymore and started shaping her life here and now.
Today, she feels quite ggod in Warsaw. Helping others is simply a satisfying activity, and it also helps her in the fight against thoughts of the disease. The principle is simple: when Rada is busy, there's no time to wonder if cancer will come back. When she takes action, she feels a sense of agency, deciding for herself. All in all, she believes that her life experiences, including the war, forced emigration, loss of home, and separation from loved ones, have made her stronger. She also proves helpful in conversations with people who today feel what she felt then.
Moreover, what Rada wants to emphasize is that despite everything, she hasn't lost her optimism. She doesn't know where so much of it comes from; perhaps she was just born that way. And for her, it's beautiful that she sees it in her daughters as well. Maybe they didn't initially have much joy in them, but when she sees how well they’re doing today, it brings her joy. Any mother, regardless of origin and traditions, would feel the same satisfaction as Rada.
Therefore, she won't say anymore that the war took everything from her, that she has nothing. Her daughters, family, and work? That's her meaning. Everything else has less significance for Rada Sorochynska.
The views and conclusions expressed in the text represent the author's opinions and do not necessarily reflect the official position of the Heinrich Böll Foundation.