Anamika (Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma Cancer Survivor)

My journey started in 2015 when I started having a fever that would refuse to go. The doctor suggested a blood test, which confused me because I had just done a complete body check-up two months ago. The doctor convinced me to get a blood test because none of his medicines worked. When I first walked into the doctor's cabin, he noticed that I had lost a lot of weight. In my mind, I was happy that I was losing a lot of weight without doing much, but I did not realize that it was my body screaming that I was sick.

Diagnosing the cancer

The blood test results came, and I was also told to do sonography, which showed that my spleen was three times its size; finally, I was diagnosed with non-Hodgkins Lymphoma. Even before the diagnosis, I had a feeling that I was in this for a long time, and the diagnosis did not shock me. The first question my family asked the doctor was, What did she do wrong? The doctor had to tell us that there was no answer to this question.

Luckily for me, this type of Lymphoma is entirely curable, and I was referred to an oncologist in another hospital on my birthday on January 3rd 2016; I started my chemotherapy. I went through six cycles of chemotherapy. The first cycle was challenging because you didn't know what to expect. I had stopped eating properly and was experiencing constipation. After much hesitation, I asked the doctor if the constipation was because I didn't eat properly. The doctors told me it was a side effect of the chemotherapy and suggested I undergo an enema to solve this problem.

Family's response to my cancer diagnosis

Since we knew at the beginning that the cancer was entirely curable, my family was not worried too much. Our only concern was to get through the treatment safely and to finish the process without any problems. We initially discussed it, and my husband and I decided that we should probably not tell our daughter about the diagnosis. But my daughter heard the word chemotherapy while talking to my husband and eventually came to know. She took the news bravely for a child who was only twelve years old. 

My daughter getting to know about my disease gave me a new drive to get through this and take better care of myself. After the first chemotherapy cycle, I met with my doctor and told them that it was their duty to explain to me all the side effects and how I could manage them. From the second cycle of chemotherapy, I was in complete charge of myself. I knew what was going on with my body and what medicines to take. There is a saying that you will not be given things you can not handle, which proved suitable for me. My husband was also pursuing his PhD, so he was also at home to take care of me. 

How I came across holistic healing

A lot of my friends were of great support to me. They came to me with knowledge about the mind and body connection and gave me many books that spoke about how the thought process might have been the root cause of the disease. As a person who reads extensively, this was a new field of knowledge. This opened a new door for me, and I started reading a lot on this subject and got trained as a coach. Today I help cancer patients identify what in their mind has caused this illness and how to take care of themselves and live with it. 

The time it took me to understand the holistic treatment.

More than holistic treatment, I learned about healing through this journey. Even today, my family and I get healed every week. When I had given the biopsy and was waiting for the results, I experienced back pain because my spleen was enlarged and was pressing on the other organs. My husband's friend's wife was a healer, and I realized it did not hurt to try because while we were waiting for the results, I didn't have anything to do. So my husband agreed, and she did the therapy. We weren't even on a call together; she just told me to lie down and relax, and twenty minutes later called my husband and told him that the session was over.

The next day my back pain reduced a lot. I am unsure if it was the healing or something else, but that is when the connection with healing began. The healer later called and told me she had a message for me. She told me to let go. I initially did not understand what I had to let go of, but slowly I started to realise how much of my life I was controlling and how much I had to let go. 

Lifestyle changes

I have made many lifestyle changes to ensure I don't poison my body or mind anymore after the treatment. I don't consume alcohol anymore; I have all my meals on time, I don't stay up after 9, I keep a journal as a way of introspection and spend at least 2 hours every day just for myself. 

At the end of the day, fighting cancer is fighting our bodies, and I had to accept what was happening and focus on healing myself rather than wondering, why me? 

Through this experience of learning about healing, I have understood a lot about how I have been leading my life and how much I need to change. I have learned a lot through my time with cancer, and I am now an internationally certified Heal Your Life teacher. I have not only learnt about the changes I need to make in my life but also helped my family realise that they need to lead a moderate life that does not oscillate to extremes. 

I believe that cancer made me realise the bad habits that I had in my life. Because if not for cancer, I would have continued with my previous lifestyle, and it would have caused some other health issues that might not have been curable. So, for me, cancer was the second chance in life that helped me mend my way of living.