About the Healing Circle

The Healing Circle at Love Heals Cancer and ZeonOnco.io aim to give cancer patients, caregivers, and winners a safe space to share their feelings or experiences. This circle is built on the foundation of kindness and respect. It is a sacred space where everyone listens with compassion and treats each other with honour. All the stories are confidential, and we believe that we have the guidance we need within us, and we rely on the power of silence to access it.

About the speaker

Kewal is a caregiver to his wife, Renu. In 2018, his wife had a severe stomach ache. A CA-125 test result revealed that she had ovarian cancer. After the ultrasound, the doctors confirmed that it was second-level ovarian cancer. Right after her chemotherapy, she had a few side effects like a sudden increase in her weight and body ache to name a few. She won the battle against cancer. Post-cure, she is doing yoga, especially pranayama. Since then, she has been following a good and straightforward diet with a lot of juice intake. According to him, with physical health, mental health also matters. High willpower, being mentally strong and having a positive attitude will help you get through any battle.

Kewal Krishan's journey

Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

Initially, my wife had difficulty tying the petticoat's strings. There were no signs on the skin outside. So, we went to the hospital. Doctors gave her antibiotics which only gave momentary relief. My wife took antibiotics twice, but the symptoms didn't improve. So, we switched hospitals. Visiting other hospitals didn't help much. Even the ultrasound showed nothing wrong. I didn't know what the reason behind the pain was. In February, one of the doctors suggested a CA-125 test which came back positive. We headed to Chandigarh for further treatment.

Chandigarh has all the modern medical facilities with experienced doctors. Doctors said the CA-125 test is only a marker. So, they carried out various diagnostic tests like ultrasound. When they didn't find any illness, they said they wouldn't be able to do anything more. I suspected something was wrong because it didn't go away. So, we opted for Ayurveda which might have helped the disease worsen.

I went to a retired military doctor who asked to perform an ultrasound again. It showed cysts. Then we went to BGI. We did a radio-operated ultrasound which showed positive for ovarian cancer. Doctors recommended surgery to remove the uterus in August. It was followed by chemotherapy. We still go for regular checkups and do CA-125 tests. Currently, we have difficulty doing follow-ups due to the Covid situation.

Coping emotionally

I used to consider myself a strong person. But this whole situation was a shock to me. People often give up their hope and want to quit. But my wife gave me a lot of strength and inspiration to continue. We belong to a spiritual family and are believers. We kept believing God would help us and our situation should improve because we hadn't done anything wrong. My wife has strong willpower, which enabled us to keep going. I still get the chills recalling how shocked and afraid I was. Meditation and pranayama are the best ways to deal with many diseases, whether physical or mental. 

Positive lifestyle changes that cancer brought

We started to pay more attention to our health. We began to do mediation and pranayama. For women, it is hard to keep up with their household chores and jobs. They are under a lot of pressure. They often don't take care of themselves. Meditation and pranayama can help to deal with stress and strengthen the body. Pranayam may help increase the oxygen level, which has several health benefits. 

Message to other cancer patients and caregivers

If you have any symptoms, then you should get them checked. An old saying says never to underestimate your enemy and disease. It would help if you tried to detect your illness in the beginning. Try to act quickly and be aware of the symptoms. In our case, it took almost a year to diagnose cancer. If the cysts didn't develop, we would have known about cancer quite late. So, learning about the symptoms can help. It would help if you adopted a healthy lifestyle. Do exercise daily and eat healthily. Don't procrastinate on doing exercise. My wife always said that she would start exercising, but she didn't. Who knows, things might have been different if she exercised. So, change your lifestyle in a healthy way. Prevention and early detection can be the keys. 

Don't ignore your symptoms

Never ignore your symptoms. Our body often tells us something. But we usually ignore the symptoms and consider them less severe. But timely action can help to detect cancer in the early stages. It becomes difficult to treat if cancer advances into stage three or four. Even after successful treatment, cancer may recur in about 70 per cent of cases. In fact, chemotherapy can't get rid of all the cancer cells. These may cause recurrence. So, adopting an anticancer diet and lifestyle is crucial to reducing the risk of recurrence and improving quality of life. 

Seven pillars to heal yourself

Eating well: You should have an anticancer diet and eat healthily during treatment. Try to continue this diet during and even after your recovery.

Moving more: You should stay confined to the bed. Try to do simple and less straining exercises or go for walks. Being physically active can help for a faster recovery.

Managing stress: We all have stress. Managing stress is essential. It can vary from person to person. For some, it is talking to friends, while others do gardening to relieve stress. You should have something that will help to cope with the stress.

Sleeping well: it is vital to take adequate sleep. Sometimes, cancer patients can't sleep. Various ways can help, like melatonin, dim lights, etc.

Creating a healing environment: You should ensure that your home is chemical-free. You may keep some plants to make you feel comfortable.

Will power to fight: being surrounded by loved ones can give you the strength to fight cancer. Will power matter a lot during the treatment and recovery.What matters to you in life: It all boils down to what matters to you. Find your inspiration and purpose in life that can make you continue living.