Neera's sojourn
MY SOJOURN DOWN THE CANCER PATH
By Neera Taneja.
Life has an uncanny knack of occasionally throwing up a curved ball……….how one catches the ball and runs with it separates the victim from the survivor.
The “ BIG C “ a formidable word in any one’s vocabulary. A dreaded nightmare for all of us but a grim reality for some of us. When I first discovered a lump in my right breast I didn’t want to acknowledge it’s presence hoping by, some miracle, that if I ignored it, it would disappear. Of course when that didn’t happen I lulled my self into a false sense of security that as 80% of all breast tumors are benign ……..I was definitely a part of the 80% statistic. A month later (and I call my self educated and well informed!!!!!!!)when certain irrefutable evidence began manifesting its self, pointing towards malignancy, I decided it was high time I stopped behaving like an ostrich, pull my head out of the sand and ask for professional help.
Actually to set the record straight, My husband had, by now, realized that things were not all well in my breast department (they do say that you can’t hide anything from your hair-dresser or your husband !!!!) and he shared his misgivings with our daughter Aditi , who was on a visit from her home in the U.S. of A.
At this point of time, things spun right out of my control , for the moment you become a cancer suspect you are automatically equated with being a moron or an imbecile…….for who else but a perfect example of a person belonging to the above category would allow the cancer cells to run riot within their own bodies???? And hence incapable of making decisions for themselves.
On the 25th of January 2003,………..the eve of my 53rd birthday…….. I was unceremoniously deposited in the haloed halls of the Apollo Cancer institute, where I was subjected to a battery of tests. So though “officially” the results would not be declared till the 28th of January, I pretty much knew that I would be walking down the malignancy path.
Coming to terms with cancer, in ones own mind, is a pretty daunting task and the most difficult first step one takes on the journey towards treatment and survival. The next arduous task is to find the right doctor…………one who can gel with your personality and in whose presence your comfort levels are high. Waiting for my first consultation with the surgical oncologist I kept praying for a kind and compassionate man, and I guess my prayers were answered for in walked Dr. Chaturvedi with a smile for every one and a reassuring pat on the back for those whom I assumed were his patients.
With a great deal of patience and serenity Dr. Chaturvedi explained the stage and treatment procedure to be followed in my case. He also encouraged me to gather as much information as I could contend with, from the internet so as to empower me to feel in control of my treatment. But just between you and me………when I started babbling about my low pain threshold……..His offer to sign “a no pain contract” with me, clinched the issue in his favor.
Armed with the knowledge that I was under the care of the best doctor there is and the love and support of my family, who stood by me like the rock of Gibraltar every step of the way, I was in a win-win situation and ready to embark on this momentous journey towards the healing process. Though I knew the year ahead would be long and painful, but it was a small price to pay for the chance to lead a near normal life again.
I am a firm believer of the adage that “ what can’t be willed away must be endured”………and God knows how hard I tried, for a whole month, to “will” my problems away………but now that it is behind me I can honestly say that I wouldn’t exchange my cancer experience for anything in this world. It opened up a whole new facet of life for me, I met some of the most amazing people, both from the medical fraternity and my comrades in arms and most importantly I was blessed with the most phenomenal family……….a family I could die for ( or should that be live for ????)
In conclusion I would like to leave you with these words :-
Cancer is so limited,
It cannot cripple love,
It cannot shatter hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot conquer the spirit.
(Source unknown)
By Neera Taneja.
Life has an uncanny knack of occasionally throwing up a curved ball……….how one catches the ball and runs with it separates the victim from the survivor.
The “ BIG C “ a formidable word in any one’s vocabulary. A dreaded nightmare for all of us but a grim reality for some of us. When I first discovered a lump in my right breast I didn’t want to acknowledge it’s presence hoping by, some miracle, that if I ignored it, it would disappear. Of course when that didn’t happen I lulled my self into a false sense of security that as 80% of all breast tumors are benign ……..I was definitely a part of the 80% statistic. A month later (and I call my self educated and well informed!!!!!!!)when certain irrefutable evidence began manifesting its self, pointing towards malignancy, I decided it was high time I stopped behaving like an ostrich, pull my head out of the sand and ask for professional help.
Actually to set the record straight, My husband had, by now, realized that things were not all well in my breast department (they do say that you can’t hide anything from your hair-dresser or your husband !!!!) and he shared his misgivings with our daughter Aditi , who was on a visit from her home in the U.S. of A.
At this point of time, things spun right out of my control , for the moment you become a cancer suspect you are automatically equated with being a moron or an imbecile…….for who else but a perfect example of a person belonging to the above category would allow the cancer cells to run riot within their own bodies???? And hence incapable of making decisions for themselves.
On the 25th of January 2003,………..the eve of my 53rd birthday…….. I was unceremoniously deposited in the haloed halls of the Apollo Cancer institute, where I was subjected to a battery of tests. So though “officially” the results would not be declared till the 28th of January, I pretty much knew that I would be walking down the malignancy path.
Coming to terms with cancer, in ones own mind, is a pretty daunting task and the most difficult first step one takes on the journey towards treatment and survival. The next arduous task is to find the right doctor…………one who can gel with your personality and in whose presence your comfort levels are high. Waiting for my first consultation with the surgical oncologist I kept praying for a kind and compassionate man, and I guess my prayers were answered for in walked Dr. Chaturvedi with a smile for every one and a reassuring pat on the back for those whom I assumed were his patients.
With a great deal of patience and serenity Dr. Chaturvedi explained the stage and treatment procedure to be followed in my case. He also encouraged me to gather as much information as I could contend with, from the internet so as to empower me to feel in control of my treatment. But just between you and me………when I started babbling about my low pain threshold……..His offer to sign “a no pain contract” with me, clinched the issue in his favor.
Armed with the knowledge that I was under the care of the best doctor there is and the love and support of my family, who stood by me like the rock of Gibraltar every step of the way, I was in a win-win situation and ready to embark on this momentous journey towards the healing process. Though I knew the year ahead would be long and painful, but it was a small price to pay for the chance to lead a near normal life again.
I am a firm believer of the adage that “ what can’t be willed away must be endured”………and God knows how hard I tried, for a whole month, to “will” my problems away………but now that it is behind me I can honestly say that I wouldn’t exchange my cancer experience for anything in this world. It opened up a whole new facet of life for me, I met some of the most amazing people, both from the medical fraternity and my comrades in arms and most importantly I was blessed with the most phenomenal family……….a family I could die for ( or should that be live for ????)
In conclusion I would like to leave you with these words :-
Cancer is so limited,
It cannot cripple love,
It cannot shatter hope,
It cannot corrode faith,
It cannot kill friendship,
It cannot silence courage,
It cannot conquer the spirit.
(Source unknown)
posted by G S Iyer at 10:26 PM
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