World Cancer Day: What My Friend’s Battle For Life Taught Me

Cancer is an unpredictable disease and more patients should come forward and tell their stories.

More cancer survivors should come forward and share their experiences and raise awareness about the disease among the public.

(On World Cancer Day 2018, we invited our readers to share stories of courage and survival.)

Every year, on 4 February, the entire world stands in unity in the fight against cancer. This day is known as “World Cancer Day”– which has become synonymous with death. Once a person is diagnosed with cancer, the life of the person changes. And it’s not just them, their entire family suffers. Sympathies start pouring in from friends, relatives and everyone around. Hope of life is almost lost. This is how cancer intimidates everyone.

However, the main aim is to raise awareness for the most life threatening disease in the world – that is cancer – and educate the masses about it and prevent as many cancer deaths as possible, and pressurise governments and other organisations to take necessary action against this epidemic.

Also Read: Are We Close to Curing Terminal Cancer? Decoding Immunotherapy

Story Of My Friend Who Was Diagnosed With Cancer

We have probably seen or known someone who was diagnosed with cancer. Some were lucky to battle it out and become survivors, whereas some lost their battle. I have also seen a few people who were cancer sufferers.

A friend of mine who was diagnosed with cancer, at a slightly later stage, knew in her mind that she was going to die soon.

Her family was in a topsy-turvy situation. My friend was in high school when the symptoms started showing and the treatment began.

Also Read: Riding Against Cancer: A Survivor Tells His Story

All her well-wishers were shocked to hear the news, but we were mostly hopeful and positive about her recovery. We read about so many survivor stories every day, that it made us believe that she would be one of them too.

She also underwent regular treatments; her parents had spent a huge amount for her treatment. She was somehow assured by everyone that she would be fine, which strengthened her a bit as she got back to her regular life.

She was often visited by people with sweets and flowers with the hope that she would soon recover. (Photo: iStock)

But as the days passed, the doctors started giving red signals. Her condition started to worsen. She was often visited by people with sweets and flowers with the hope that she would soon recover. She was still undergoing treatment. At times, she showed some recovery too.

One fine day, she took to Facebook to write about her sorrow, her experiences, how life had been so unfair to her. She badly wanted to get back to her previous life, but at the same time, she wanted to die as she did not wish to go through the pain any more.

She was also sad to see people around her grieving due to her illness. She wanted to bring an end to the situation either way. And the very next day, she left for her heavenly abode, leaving all of us in dismay.

Also Read: FitQuiz: How Much Do You Know About Cancer?

We see how cancer acts like a venom and kills a person leaving their near and dear ones in a state of mourning. This is why we need to hear more dying patients’ stories so that we realise the gravity of the situation.

Little did we know that her Facebook post was going to be her farewell message.

It’s Taxing to Go Through Cancer Treatment

There are many types of cancer which can occur in different parts of the body.

It is very important that we are taught about the preliminary causes and symptoms of cancer so that there can be an early diagnosis. And early diagnosis of the disease increases the chances of survival of the patient.

If cancer is not diagnosed in time, it can spread to other body parts and the patient ultimately succumbs to it.

It is also known that cancer treatment is quite expensive and affordable for a majority of the society and therefore, most people feel hopeless. The treatment is extremely rigorous and taxing as well.

Having said that, there have been new inventions and treatments which are saving the lives of many. But given the grave consequences of cancer, the treatment should be made more affordable so that in the future, more lives can be spared.

Also Read: Are We Close to Curing Terminal Cancer? Decoding Immunotherapy

More Cancer Survivors & Patients Should Tell Their Stories

Famous Bollywood actor, Manisha Koirala is a cancer survivor. We have often seen her publicly sharing her battle with cancer. There are many celebrities who have gone through this: Some like Yuvraj Singh have survived successfully, but some like Vinod Khanna, unfortunately, have succumbed to it.

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/@mkoirala)

Also Read: Manisha Koirala Tells Us What Not to Say to Cancer Patients

So, what we see is that cancer is a highly unpredictable disease, making life a mere gamble.

In my opinion, more and more cancer survivors should come forward and share their experiences and raise awareness about the disease among the public.

At the same time, it is equally important that we get to hear more from dying cancer patients about their experiences and life challenges. These stories may change our thinking and we may no longer take cancer so lightly. #WeCanICan

(This is a personal blog and the views expressed above are the author's own. FIT neither endorses nor is responsible for the same.)