The War Against Cancer and the Story of Hope

                                                                           By Ipshita Sarmah

The monsoons were at its peak in Mumbai when we reached there at around 4.30 on the 23^rd of July. We took a pre-paid cab from the airport to Vashi where the Assam Bhavan is located. It was just me and my aunt who is now fighting Cancer, and the doctors that were treating her initially had almost given up. But we had not; we had to fight it and we were determined to do so.  Tata Memorial, Mumbai, like for us, has been ‘the’ pilgrimage for most of our warriors from India and abroad fighting cancer. True, the process takes a little time, but it goes around systematically and they do try their best to provide you with their best arms to fight your war. I say “your war” because it really is a war you fight against the enemy called cancer which tries to consume you not just physically, but emotionally and psychologically as well. When cancer enters your body, it enters your conscience. It is not just a matter of eliminating the disease; it is more about conquering the fear that comes with it. And that is where I would like to talk about these societies that are helping our warriors fight their war not just financially. They aim at motivation that will lead to the uplifting of the spirits of our warriors to help them conquer the fear and have a completely new perspective on life itself.

Mumbai itself is doing enough for the cause- show them your cancer card (patient identity card) and they don’t charge your vehicle at the toll-gate. But here, I’m specifically talking about the initiatives undertaken by Assam based Deepsikha Cancer Care foundation and Assam Bhavan located at Vashi, Navi Mumbai. The war we are talking about here is an expensive war, and these organizations provide for accommodation and transportation to and from Tata memorial Hospital, at a minimum rate, or free of cost to a few extremely underprivileged. The moment we reached Assam Bhavan, we were extremely clueless and all that we held on to (the thing which is a basic armor for one and all, and not just the ones fighting cancer) was ‘hope’. There were no rooms vacant at the Assam Bhavan, but they arranged for us a comfortable accommodation at the guest house of another organization namely the Brahmaputra Cancer Care Society located at Kharghar, Navi Mumbai. After a series of tests and consultations with the very-abled and willing doctors, the treatment soon began with a series of now ongoing radiations, and we are still holding on to, this time- a new ray of hope.

Before we decided on moving to Mumbai, my aunt talked to Mr. Devasish Sharma, the Deputy Resident Commissioner at Assam Bhavan about the negative comments her previous doctors had given her and asked him if it would be any good if she sought a second opinion at Tata Memorial, and his words were- “Technology has come so far that there is something new that comes up with every passing day, so if we look at the possibilities, then why not?”. And with that, we booked our flight. Coming to the point of war again, cancer is a family war- you don’t fight it alone but with an entire army of family, friends and well-wishers. And when you fight it with a positive mind, ‘impossible’ becomes just another word in the dictionary. This reminds us of a quote from the book The Power of Positive Thinking by Norman Vincent Peale which says,

 “Stand up to an obstacle. Just stand up to it, that's all, and don't give way under it, and it will finally break. You will break it. Something has to break, and it won't be you, it will be the obstacle.”