Local man builds 1,200 cacti garden for wife with cancer

A local man in the Mediterranean province of Adana has built a hobby garden with more than 1,200 cacti to support his spouse with breast cancer.

Fikriye Gülmez and Hasan Gülmez, a couple married for 49 years, went to a doctor for a routine health checkup last year.

During the health checkup, it was found that Fikriye Gülmez has a malignant lesion in her breast.

Fighting against breast cancer since then, Fikriye Gülmez has been spending her treatment process in the hobby garden build by her husband behind their house, where more than 1,200 cacti have been placed.

Noting that his wife's breast lesion became smaller after the therapy treatments following which she had an operation, Hasan Gülmez stressed that she should not be upset and bored during the process of her treatment.

"She has to constantly smile and deal with it. So, I wanted to do something special for her. I set up this garden because of her passion for flowers," Hasan Gülmez said, noting that cacti absorb radiation in the body and help give one peace and sleep.

Stating that every day she comes to her cactus garden early in the morning and forgets how time passes there, Fikriye Gülmez said that she spent her day taking care of cacti.

"Those with illnesses should have hobbies, forget all their troubles and become happy. Happiness is already the cure for this disease," she said.

Turkey,