Life before, during, and after Cancer

A loving wife, a doting mother, a good daughter-in-law, a great daughter, sweet mother-in-law, proud grandmother, happy cancer-survivor…..there are many epithets that fit Uma Srinivasan. While all the other epithets elicit happy and positive images, ‘cancer survivor’ evokes a grim picture to some people. Although, it need not be that way! And it certainly wasn’t for Uma! That is why the word happy here is a deliberate prelude…

The year: 2009. Like any other 45-year-old woman, Uma too was enjoying the best of domestic bliss, along with being a conscientious citizen and a socially-aware person, based out of Liberia in Western Africa. One morning, while showering, Uma felt a small lump on her right breast. Given the better quality of healthcare in India, Uma chose to fly to her native Chennai to undergo a full round of tests on the lump.

A highly experienced and qualified surgeon put Uma through an ultrasound, a mammogram, and an FNAC (Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology) which is a kind of biopsy. The reports followed a few days later. While the ultrasound and mammogram results showed everything was normal, the FNAC was crystal clear: Uma did have carcinoma of the breast or breast cancer in short. What was surprising to the doctor and Uma herself was that she never showed any of the symptoms typical of breast cancer.

While anybody else in her place would have gone into a shell or wallowed in pathos, Uma was made of sterner stuff. Boldly and with a lot of positivity, Uma went through the surgery. She was diagnosed with Stage II-A Carcinoma Breast and had to undergo a lumpectomy – where-in the cancerous lump is removed surgically (as against a mastectomy where the entire breast is removed). This was followed by 6 cycles of chemotherapy and 28 sittings for Radiation spread over a period of 9 months.

Like other cancer patients who have undergone chemotherapy, Uma too went through the typical side-effects such as nausea, acidity, mouth ulcers, hair fall, and constant fatigue. But more than her bald pate, what shone was her spirit. Throughout the treatment, Uma faced every day with a positive, bold, and cheerful outlook to ‘life beyond cancer’. She proved yet again like many cancer survivors have done in the past, that the human spirit is far more powerful than any disease that ails human society today. Like many before her, Uma too understood that in life, our outlook can decide the outcome when it comes to disease or disaster. Concepts such as pain and suffering are purely notional and not always for real.

All through the treatment process, Uma was fortunate to have the love and support of her husband, daughter (then a law student at the University of Gujarat), her ‘two mothers’ as she calls them, and innumerable friends, relatives, and acquaintances.

In her words, some of the take-aways or real-life lessons from the experience have been:

• Never take anything for granted: Never assume things will go your way. Be prepared for surprises in life – both pleasant and unpleasant.
• Be thankful for the people in your lives: You will know how much people love you when you are in a crisis. And when they show it, love them back. Appreciate the nice gestures. Overlook the small things. Make some time for them.
• Take care of your health: It’s good to be careful about health at any age in life. But when you are on the wrong side of 40 years, it’s imperative. Get a medical check-up done every year or every 6 months as you age.
• Make time for yourself: Even as you make time for your near and dear ones, it’s important to make time for yourself. Indulge in your hobbies, stay in touch with friends, spend more ‘me time’ and do everything that makes you genuinely happy.
• Enjoy life: Yes, indeed, being happy should top the list of your life goals. Don’t wait for that ‘one fine day’ to do something nice. Do it now. Live in the present. Live. And not just exist.

Afterword

Uma went through chemotherapy bravely, but a few years later, she was pained to see a couple of friends and family members choose not to go through chemo and opt for naturopathic and alternative treatments. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it. While chemo cannot help those who are in the final stages of their condition, it can definitely help those in the early stages, like it did for Uma. This taught her the importance of introspection and correct decision-making in life.

Every year after the treatment, Uma undergoes a thorough breast check up as part of her annual health check to rule out any recurrence of the condition. She has been cancer-free till date.

Even as cancer evokes a range of emotions in people, it’s good for patients and their near and dear ones to remember one thing – there is always hope. There is always life beyond cancer. Cancer research is a multi-billion dollar industry, so there are always new drugs, new therapies, new treatments, new procedures, and new instruments that are emerging all the time.

So one should keep a level head and reach out to a reputed hospital. Rest assured, the specialists there will diagnose your condition precisely and decide the best course of treatment for the best outcome. So that one day, your dear one can also wear the badge of ‘cancer survivor’ proudly and tell his/her tale that will inspire hope in others. Precisely what Uma Srinivasan has done!

 

Kauvery Hospital is globally known for its multidisciplinary services at all its Centers of Excellence, and for its comprehensive, Avant-Grade technology, especially in diagnostics and remedial care in heart diseases, transplantation, vascular and neurosciences medicine. Located in the heart of Trichy (Tennur, Royal Road and Alexandria Road (Cantonment), Chennai, Hosur, Salem, Tirunelveli and Bengaluru, the hospital also renders adult and pediatric trauma care.

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