Meet our founder
Samina Hussain - Breast Cancer Survivor
When I was diagnosed with Breast Cancer in 2014 I was 45 years old and my world fell apart. I heard the doctor tell me Mrs Hussain you have Cancer and we will be in touch about your treatment plan. I felt so many emotions and wanted the answers to “why me”, for the first few weeks I did not want to discuss the C word I just need time to understand how my life had dramatically changed overnight. As I came to terms with my diagnosis and lifted my head, I found other women that I could talk to.
Admittingly not many were from the South Asian community so I presumed this type of Cancer did not affect them, which was far from the truth.
My coping mechanism was to share pictures and my journey on Facebook, this gave me great strength in connecting with others, I had an opportunity to say what I really felt without doing it in person, which also allowed me to feel the love and prayers from people around me.
Once I had shared my journey with other women connected and shared stories of losing either their mother or sister to Breast Cancer but were never allowed to discuss their grief. By sharing my journey, it gave them a platform to acknowledge their grief.
I came across a quote by Vivian Greene – “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass but learning to dance in the rain”. This quote had a powerful meaning that I could not just sit back and I need to keep going and dance in the rain as there is goodness in everything. I had surgery first lumpectomy then chemotherapy which has its complexities and then finished with a month of radiotherapy, during treatment I also had a blood clot and spent many weeks in hospital. We all have trials and tribulations in life, but what truly gave me strength is surrounding myself with positive supportive people that did not judge me and just wanted to walk alongside me, God sent me an army.
woman without hair. cancer treatment
Today I am a strong, tall and bold woman who is grateful for everyone that has walked alongside me, no one should do Cancer alone. As a patient, you go through so much, but your family too embarks on a painful journey watching their wife, mother sister go through this horrific journey.
Sakoon means tranquillity and peace and to overcome any adversity in life you need peace in your heart to begin the healing process. My faith teaches me that if you take from a system then you need to always give back. I am the Co-founder of Knit Your Socks Off, with Sbba who knitted my first pair of chemo socks and now we have 700 members on Facebook.
We knit, stitch and crotchet thousands of items such socks for local chemotherapy unit, baby packs for neonatal units, hand twiddle mitts for dementia patients, trauma teddies and angel cribs for the maternity unit. I was also the winner of Sue Ryder Southern Woman of Courage award in 2016.
I created the vision of Sakoon in 2018, as South Asian women were affected by the disease but due to the taboo of Cancer and the challenges society and culture place upon them, their concerns where just not being heard.
Since embarking on this journey, I have participated in many media opportunities such as Victoria Derbyshire programme, various radio programmes, community events to raise the profile of Breast Cancer and self-examination in the South Asian community.