“ZINDAGI ZINDA DILLI KA NAAM HAI
MURDA DIL KYA KHAK JIYA KARTE HAI”- IMAM BAKSH NASHIK (1776-1838)
[MEANS: LIFE IS MEANT TO BE LIVED FEARLESSLY; THE DEAD HEARTS EXIST LIKE THE SPENT ASH!]
This story has been written on behalf of Alka ji, an ovarian cancer survivor of nine years.
In 2012, Alka Ji had gone to Sydney to meet her family. A week before she flew back to India, she complained of severe pain in her lower abdomen. After prioritizing her settling back into the daily mundane routines and chores of life back in India, she alone visited a gynecologist.
The gynecologist examined her, advised a series of blood & radiological tests. Alka ji, in view of low-grade symptoms of lower pelvic pain, wasn’t expecting any serious issues but her MRI scan at a reputed hospital in Gurgaon, turned out to be “very scary”, and the whole environment was engulfed with a sense of pity. In her words, “everybody started looking at me with a sense of pity”. PET scan followed next.
Low and behold, a diagnosis was made. Ovarian cancer had spread to the liver and lungs, in her words, “I was diagnosed with stage -iv of cancer. I had only six months of life left”.
After listening to these words, for, the most ordinary mortals like us our world comes crashing. Hope, courage, strength are often engulfed with the fear of death, morbidity and sadness-everything comes to a standstill.
But what changed Alka ji’s equation with CANCER was her undying spirit of love for life and her ability to dissolve the negative feeling of fear into positive thoughts as explained in her words, “MAI JEEN AAI AA. MAINU KUCH NAHI HUA, MAI NAHI MARNA”. [I have come to live. nothing is wrong with me. I am not going to Die’.]
Although she in her physical realms of reality was even scared of a prick of a needle, let alone undertaking the arduous task of the cancer journey treatment. However, she kept her grit and determination with her strong faith embedded in the cardinal principle of “Dawa ke saath Dua Bhi kaam aati hai.” [ “Prayers also go hand in hand with the medical treatment”.
Alkaji started her treatment with rigorous chemotherapy regimens which were scheduled for twice a week over a period of three months. practically, in her word’s hospital had become a second home. This was just a beginning of what was yet to be followed next- a big surgery that took place wherein her ovaries were removed, along with the uterus and fatty layers of large intestines. Chemotherapy regimens were again to be followed a month after the surgery. The ramifications of the treatment were nerve numbing on her, as she expresses “The whole treatment was very scary and had a lot of side effects. I couldn’t see myself in the mirror but faced everything very boldly with God’s grace.” As earlier mentioned, her willpower to live was the magnetic force to defeat cancer.
She sums it up beautifully, “I wanted to live and not die. Because of my positivity, I survived. It was no doubt a miracle, my faith in God and belief in Almighty together gave me a new lease of life.” She further added here, “I was told by my doctors that you have been given a new life by God and live the new life the way you want to live.”
She exuberantly inspires by stating that "my last chemo was done in July 2013, after that I had to get my quarterly pet scans done, then six-monthly and then yearly. Since 2018 doctors have told me that I am as good as a normal person… it’s almost eight years… I am strong and healthy and living a normal life with GOD’S grace… My energy and vibrancy are so strong that I feel as young as eight years old, even though I am sixty.”
True to her word and spirit we salute our Cancer Warrior, Alka ji, and her admirable courage to inspire the world around us. Even today, this “Braveheart” as she is lovingly referred to by her neighbors, family, and friends continues to walk her journey with positive energy, love, and light.