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Written By: Editorial Team | Updated : April 2, 2015 5:27 PM IST
Nobody can ever be mentally prepared to get diagnosed with cancer. Still, it can occur to anyone, and doctors or specialists are no exception to it. Here's an inspirational account from Dr Roshan F Chinoy, an onco-pathologist who survived colon cancer.
Life before getting diagnosed of cancer
For the better part of my life, I have been almost disgustingly healthy. Cocooned in a smug world of complacency, I never even entertained the possibility of becoming a cancer patient myself. This, remember, comes from an onco-pathologist, who sees the disease day in and day out, and who should have known better. I always knew that if cancer had to attack, it would do so, with absolute impartiality, to anyone, at any age, at any time. Beware of common myths about cancer mentioned here.
I can date the beginning of my troubles to an overnight long train journey, during which I had an agonizingly violent attack of food poisoning and diarrhoea. From that point on, till over a year and half later, I never really regained full health. Fevers, pain in my abdomen, general malaise, bouts of nausea and a continuous sense of low feeling, were all new aliments for me. I was slowly losing weight and becoming cranky. I did not like the sight or smell of food (and I am a foodie). I had alternating attacks of diarrhoea and constipation and still it did not register. To think, I used to keep advising patients to go for checkups, and I could not see the danger signs in myself. Take a look at these cancer symptoms you shouldn't ignore.
When colon cancer hit me
Finally, a year later, I found myself at my radiologist's door.
'What's wrong with me?' I asked, and out popped the VIP syndrome, specially reserved for friends' colleagues and doctors! 'It's diverticulitis, infection, take intravenous antibiotics,' Ok. So I took full treatment for everything. But nothing helped. Then I started bleeding. From that point onwards, I was rapidly hurled into a world I only knew about from the outside. The diagnosis was 'colon cancer.' Read more about the incidence of colon cancer in India.
Coping with chemotherapy
Surgery has its painful agonizing moments, but that pain eases and passes. New problems crop up, and you have to adjust to oversensitive scars, changed eating patterns, strange bowel symptoms and general moroseness about your likely fate. Fifteen days after my surgery, my partner at work, went off on long holiday. That forced me to go back to work, which was a God-sent necessary rescue operation for me. For the next 15 days, I worked, gained some confidence in myself, but at the end of 30 days, it was time to start chemotherapy. It was only then that the full impact of a cancer diagnosis hit me. Read more about surgery, chemotherapy and radiation therapy in cancer treatments.
Chemotherapy was not just difficult, it was a torture. I was nauseous, sick and depressed. I lost 15 kilos, which was a good thing, but my hands and legs trembled with every movement. I lost all liking for food. My hair did not fall off completely, but there was thinning and an ugly bald patch appeared at the back of my head. I felt shock waves if I touched any cold object. A slightly cold room, or a cool breeze would send me into paroxysms of cramps and I started wearing socks, double layers of clothes and sweaters to work. My body was weak and limp and I was unable to walk for any length of time without getting out of breath and ridiculously tired. Then my liver started showing signs of toxicity. I began thinking seriously of death and its consequences to my family. But, I remade my will; contemplated the scenario, and tried to reconcile myself to my maudlin fate. Read more about side-effects of chemotherapy.
Winning the year and a half battle against cancer
Through this period, my husband was really kind, compassionate and quietly bore my ill health and bouts of temper tantrums with amazing tolerance. The two persons who really understood and pushed me to normalcy were my two daughters. Khushnum, my younger, fragile daughter was my bodyguard and she stood by me tirelessly, oftentimes all night. Zarina, my elder daughter was in the U.S appearing for her exams. Yet she flew down to be with me, and buoyed me up with words of hope and encouragement.
A year and a half later, my surgery and chemotherapy behind me, I slowly limped back to health. Work helped tremendously. I began to eat, to smile and to hope. Life was precious and I wanted to live again, despite the Democles sword that still hung over my head.
I live to tell the tale today, four and half years later. I would not wish this disease to strike even my worst enemy, but life does not guarantee an uneventful passage to any human being. For those millions of cancer patients who are in this boat with me, I send a simple message, work, live and get on with life: for this too shall pass.
Read more inspirational cancer survivor stories: Yuvraj Singh beat cancer and RJ Singh Oberoi, who survived a rare heart cancer.
Story courtesy: V Care Foundation
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