My cancer was diagnosed in 2007. I was studying in class 8 then. While returning from school, I used to feel exhausted. One day while playing, I fell. I had blood in my nose. My parents took me to a nearby chemist shop. He gave me some medicine, but it did not help. Then I was taken to an experienced doctor. He prescribed some tests. On further investigation, my cancer was diagnosed.
My treatment continued at Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute & Research Centre. I was given chemotherapy. It had severe side effects. Initially, I was hospitalized for one month continuously. Later I used to go once a month to the hospital. After five years of treatment, I was declared cancer-free.
Chemotherapy had a severe side effect on the body. As I am Sikh, I have never cut my hair. But the doctor suggested cutting it. Otherwise, it would fall on my pillow. My hair was cut small. It had a terrible impact on me. Later, my hair was gone due to chemotherapy. The whole process was painful. But it is past now. Once chemotherapy was completed, my hair grew back.
I am fortunate to be treated by the best doctors. Even nurses and other medical staff were very cooperative. They used to encourage me a lot. They taught me that cancer is nothing but a simple cough and fever. I never knew them before, but the way they treated and behaved with me was praiseworthy. I have respect for them in my heart forever. I never gave up and have always managed my emotional well-being with a positive mindset. I take everything very positively.
My parents did not inform me about my disease initially. I was a little bit surprised about whatever was going on around me. I used to wonder why I was in the hospital for so long. Later, when I came to know about my diagnosis. I was a bit surprised and overwhelmed. As an eight-year-old child, I was not much aware of it, but I was not happy with all the development around me.
Eating well and exercising are a way of life for me. It is essential to keep a sense of yourself, a sense of your lifestyle, and not have that be altered too much because of cancer. There is no excuse for ignoring yourself and not caring for yourself. If you don't take care of yourself, no one else will do it. Even after getting a cure, follow a routine life. This will help in future. It is not only about cancer. If you do not follow a healthy lifestyle. You can have some other health issues also.
Cancer is curable in almost all cases. Believe, and you will achieve it. It is like any other disease. If we have a fever or cold, we take medicine the same way we have to treat cancer. A positive attitude is very much crucial in fighting cancer. Laugh and smile, plus surround yourself only with people who will do the same.
My advice to other people is that :
"You can do anything you want but never give up."