Does that FEAR the
first emotion which comes into your mind when you hear the word cancer? Is it really such a terrific disease? No. Of course, there are
many known and unknown among us who proved that cancer is also just another
curable disease
“Nothing
to worry. I faced it cool”, says Maya Rajendran,
a cancer survivor
“I had lung cancer. Even when they told me to remove lungs, i didn’t feel
negative. There is life span decided by the god”, Moly Sunny who survivor
recalls those tough time.
Are they victims or winners? Every cancer survivors ask this question to
themselves.
Definitely, they are winners. Many still believes that
cancer is incurable. That is wrong. The time is proving that. These beautiful
smiles are the proof for that. They did not fell down before the cancer; these
brave hearts fought and conquered the cancer
“Yes,
its labelled as a chronic disease. Which one is not? Of course its treatment
got some side effects. You may lose your hair. But the hair will grow again. At
first accept that you are a patient”, says Maya.
While everybody was worried about Moly’s disease,
Moly remained calm.
“Everyone used to cry around me. They
feared I’l die. I consoled them. I
assured them that I’l be back. My children were scared. But my confidence was a
support for them too.”
If you start thinking that you are a looser,
everything will end there. One needs the strength to fight. It is the support
of others which makes them strong to face the uninvited visitor in their life.
Ambika told her doctor that he should tell
whatever its. She was ready to face it. Her husband and doctor spoke frankly to
her. Even she came to know that it was the fourth stage of cancer from their
words. She was determined to fight it.
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| with 5 brave women who defeated the cancers |
The famous Malayalam film actor and former
M.P Innocent is another successful man who defeated the crab’s bite twice.
“I went to consult doctor with my son. He
advised me to start treatment. I cried before them. I’m going to die soon. But the doctor assured
that we can cure it. He told me to face it with a smile. That was the first and
last time I cried”.
Dr. V P Gangadharan, the famous oncologist
points his finger towards the attitude of the society. He feels our society is
still panic about hearing the word cancer.
“If you are self confident, you can face
it. Injecting confidence is the main part of the treatment. It is not the
doctor or nurse's duty; it’s the society which should do this. The treatment
for the cancer should be done by the society”, says Doctor
There are many such survivors of cancer in
this world. Many of them survived cancer more than once. Their tales are inspirational
for others to fight.
They were all living with all the happiness
of their life when the crab started to eat them. Some of them dictated the
disease at an early stage, while others took time. At first it was a big shock
for them. But they didn’t lose their self confidence. They were determined to
fight back. Then these warriors started the fight with medicines and
chemotherapy. Many stood with them as rock; yes, they are also the real heroes.
“If the family is not supportive to us, it
will mentally affect us. The friends and family should stand with the patient. “
Maya Rajendran shared her experiences
“Many sympathized when they came to see me.
I smiled at them, just to communicate that it’s not a big deal. That made them
to feel relieved”, Ambika recalls those days.
“They
were sad, but they never cried before me. i too surprised to see the positive
energy provided by others”, says Dr Lalitha, another famous oncologist from
Calicut who is also a survivor of cancer.
Kala’s positive energy brought changes in
her family members. “Why should we fear? We decided to go ahead with doctor’s
advice. Let’s face it brave”. That was her advice to her husband and children.
“Cure by care is the main treatment for
cancer. We used to tell it specific that. Do not cry. Last day one parent came with
their son who is a cancer patient. I told them do not cry before the child. Crying
in his presence will weaken him further”. Dr. V.P Gangadharan advices.
If you have, any doubt you must diagnosis
it as early as possible. You should start treatment, must follow the advice of
your doctor. Now cancer detection centers are operational in almost every
government hospitals.
There are many who defeated the disease
with their willpower. They fought even when the crab began to eat their life. Earlier
cancer considered as the synonyms of death. But now things are changed. Medical
science has proved that it’s just another curable disease like others. Identify
the disease at early stage and take the proper treatment. Keep your mind free; do
not ever think that you are a patient. That’s the biggest mantra for defeating the
cancer.
“There
are many ways to face it. We should start the treatment at early stage. We can
survive the cancers. If all attempt fail, then the last option is palliative care”,
Dr VP Gangadharan points.
Statistics with the Regional Cancer Centre
at Trivandrum says that around 3 Lakh cancer patients are there in Kerala. And
an average of 56000 new cases are registering per year, these statistics
doesn’t represent the number of cases with private hospitals. As per 2014 data,
approximately 21000 cancer patients die each year in the states. But now the
situation has improved. It is not only due to the development in the field of
the medical science, the awareness among the public also helped to achieve
this. Now the people started to open up
before the society about the disease.
Earlier it was not the same. The
positive attitude of the people also helped to boost the morale of the patient.
They supplied them the energy to fight back. They made them to engage in other
activities, which also added to the success of the treatment.
“Cancer is not the reason behind every
death. The patient should be brought back to their routine life as early as
possible. If they are working, tell them to go office, or to school. We won't
put any limitations for them”, Dr VP Gangadharan continues.
There
are many who returned to normal life after treatment. The famous film star
turned MP Mr, Innocent, the well-known writer Sithara and the noted film
director Sidharth Siva are a few among them. They are still active in our society,
big inspirations for others.
They
taught us the lessons of survival. They all returned into their normal life.
They never hide their diseases. Now they are there to share their experiences
and inspire those fighters with positive notes. Beyond
that they are also engaged in making people aware of the disease and the care
they should provide. Not mere by words, even economically too
“Many are reluctant for taking treatment. When
we knows this, we go to them with advices, even financially we will help them,
if needed”, says Ambika who now works with an organization of cancer survivors
in Kochi.
Many
are worried about their glamour, especially about the hair fall. Many patients keep on asking about this. “When one shared her fear of losing hair, I
showed her my hairless old photos. Then the patient gets more hope. Then next
question will about the color of the hair, whether it will be gray hair or
black hair? Will it be curled one or straight hair? So the hope is back”. Dr
Radha Thevanoor, the director SCMS group of colleges shares her experiences
with cancer patients.
“After
becoming MP, I thought how I can help others in this area. I used my MP fund to
install mammogram machines in 5 hospitals in my constituency. It helped the
women to go and check whether they are having any symptoms. The poor will not be able to spend thousands
for the checkups. So this initiative will be helpful them”, Innocent says.
Many
others spread love and care for the needy people. Care is an important thing in
this. Especially for those reached at the final stages of the disease.
Palliative care units are helping such patients to peacefully live their last
days with love and care.
There
are 4 principles in palliative care. Respect the interest of the patient. Do
less harm. Be kind. Do justice. Never lie to them about the disease. We should
take them along with us.
The
famous musician Bob Moore once said, ‘My strength did not come from lifting
weights. My strength came from lifting myself up when i was knocked down.’
Yes,
let us say loudly to the world that cancer does not mean death, it’s just a
disease. Let us set our mind to fight against the disease. Replace the symbol of cancer with a rose. Give crab to any other chronic disease. Let’s
blossom the hope.
Let us support the fighters. Let us admire the winners. Let us march with
hope.
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