World Cancer Day: Young cancer survivors and caregivers tell tales of grit

Delhi-NCR’s young survivors and caregivers share their experiences of beating cancer with an indomitable spirit on World Cancer Day, February 4.

New Delhi The word cancer is enough to fill many with dread, yet one often comes across examples of resilience and positivity where there has been no stone left unturned in beating the disease. And at times, many give a helping hand to others in this long battle. On World Cancer Day today, some of Delhi’s youngsters share the inspiring tales of dealing with cancer, as a survivor or caregiver.

Young, college-going students, some of who are cancer survivors, are helping other patients battle the disease. (Photo by Mohd Zakir/HT (For representational purposes only))

“I was 15 when I was diagnosed with cancer. I still remember, the doctor asked me to step outside while he broke the news to my parents,” says Mohd Arshad Khan, who is pursuing BA (Prog) at Delhi University’s School of Open Learning (SOL). Having recovered today, this resident of Rajouri Garden recalls: “I somewhere knew at the back of my mind that it’s a big illness, hence the silence and sadness. But, during the course of my treatment, I was determined to beat it. Cancer se pehle bhi I had been a kid with a strong fighting spirit, so I thought ki kuchh bhi ho jaye yeh jung jeetni hi hai. I went from 50kg to being 30kg, in just a month, but was hell bent on beating cancer.”

Khan’s fellow volunteer and batchmate at DU’s SOL, Ravi Singh, too recalls his battle with cancer as an arduous one. “Doctors told my parents that I’m little more than a dead body, and everyone around us told them to instead spend our limited money on the treatment of my younger brother, who once fell from the terrace and kept ill. I used to stay awake in the fear ki agar main so gaya toh main marr jaunga. Then one night I heard my parents considering poisoning themselves to end this ordeal,” shares this resident of RK Puram who has travelled a long road to recovery, and is today involved in caring for other such patients. He adds: “Jab cancer patients aur unki families humse milti hain, they feel inspired. They think jab iss bacche ne kar liya toh hum bhi kar sakte hain!”

A few youngsters, who are caregivers to cancer patients in their families, say they are doing so to help their loved ones win the battle. Even though it means juggling their studies alongside. Dinky Khurana, a fourth year B El Ed student at Miranda House, DU shares: “My maasi lives about four houses away from ours. She had cancer 10 years ago, and received treatment for it. But the cancer relapsed and affected all parts of her body... My maasi had lost hope about her survival, and doctors told us to give her moral support. We tried to do that, and would call her in the morning to come out and play or shop with us, or watch movies with us. We encouraged ki voh bahar aakar apne mann ki baatein share karein kyunki kahin na kahin andar chhupi haat aur beemar karti hai. Moral support can do miracles. So we tried to take care of her mental health and presented her with cases of survivors. Now her mental health is far better than before, and she wants to enjoy her life.”

There’s no bigger joy for these young souls when they see their near and dear ones win the battle. Prateek Das, 24, who is currently preparing for MTech, shares the same recalling how he helped his mother. “We got to know about my mother’s stage-two breast cancer in April last year. At first, we were quite shocked and couldn’t figure out what’s happening. In these things, you can’t get too emotional, else you’d have a breakdown and you won’t be able to plan and work it out. We have to stay a bit logical. I was in my final year of graduation and had to submit a major project that time, but this new came. It was difficult to do both, but again, you can’t get too emotional because a family member got cancer. That would just throw you off the track... Now that she has recovered completely, I wonder how did I manage then.”

The inner strength and determination of these youngsters is what has kept them going. Rohit Singh, who is presently preparing for competitive exams, has had a long battle with Leukemia (cancer of the blood) during his college days. Having been declared a long-term survivor, Singh who was diagnosed in 2015, recalls, “I was 18 when I found out, and had an intensive treatment for two years, during which I had to make multiple visits to the hospital. It affected my studies too, but my teachers were supportive. Hospital mein bade chhote, sabhi log friends bann jaate the, toh young cancer patients ki families ko mai us time par bhi samjhata tha ki kaise woh patient ko sambhalein, aur khana khilaye if they don’t feel like eating.” Since his recovery, Singh has participated been part of many awareness and patient support drives by NGO Leukemia Crusaders. He adds, “It helps for those battling cancer to see and talk to real survivors. Until Covid pandemic erupted, I visited patients to give them support. Now, I help the patients and their families, telephonically, as not just a friend but also a survivor figure.”

Author tweets @siddhijainn

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