Dr. Alia Campbell

Dr. Alia Campbell has redefined what cancer looks like.

She has been taught that laughter is the best medicine; therefore she is intentional about finding the humor in every situation. Through what has become the biggest fight of her life, Alia reflects the true definition of faith, love and laughter. Her tenacity brings renewed hope and definition of what it is to not just survive, but to thrive!

Diagnosed with malignant ductal carcinoma in December 2018, this warrior fights fearlessly. She fights for her son Logan. She fights for the many women who are too tired to fight for themselves. She fought for her mother, who also fought cancer before passing away in September of this year.

A native of Freeport, Grand Bahama, Alia Patrice is the daughter of Allison Campbell, an architect and the late Antoinette Patrice Campbell (néedeGregory), who was an entrepreneur.

Reared alongside her older brother Adam, Alia received her primary and secondary education at Sunland Lutheran School (now Sunland Baptist Academy) and Freeport Anglican High School (now Bishop Michael Eldon School) respectively. At Freeport Anglican High, Alia was a successful student and standout athlete on the girls’ softball and track teams.

Alia went on to pursue her tertiary education in the United States of America at the historically-black Xavier University of Louisiana, where she earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology and Chemistry. She went on to attend the University of the West Indies School of Dentistry at Mt. Hope in Trinidad and Tobago, from which she notably was the first Bahamian graduate.

Now residing on New Providence, Alia practices dentistry at Princess Margaret Hospital and Faith Dental Center, an apt name as it is her faith that helps to sustain her. In fact, Alia is strengthened by her favorite scripture, Proverbs 31v 25: “She is clothed in strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future.” Laughter and basking in each moment are important to Alia, who is determined to be counted among the warriors who fought and won.

Meanwhile, Alia embraces the beginning of her birth month each year with her favorite song, Donny Hathaway’s This Christmas. Born on December 1, 1978, the 40-year-old is in a unique position. Little did she know that December 2018 would change her life. She continues to battle stage 1 malignant ductal carcinoma, discovered a year after her mother’s diagnosis. It wasa precarious situation to be in, but although Alia recognized she had a retracted nipple two months before she was diagnosed, this selfless woman’s focus was on her mother and her baby boy, Logan.

Alia has since had a double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery, four rounds of chemo and lost 23 pounds, while watching her hair, eyebrows and eyelashes fall away. She took the first quarter of 2019 off, but the dynamic dentist has since returned to work. Alia is so focused and determined, she says sometimes it escapes her mind that she is a breast cancer survivor.

Moreover, the courageous Alia admitted that prior to this ordeal, she was a tough cookie, but because of all she has experienced, andhaving watched her superwoman of a mother slow down, she has become empathetic towards others. She remains tough for the fight; otherwise, she is a softer, kinder…gentler Alia, who recognizes that the person seated next to her might also be going through a storm.