How It All Started

My uncle was 49 years old when he was diagnosed with Renal Cell Carcinoma (RCC) cancer. He had been a Chronic Kidney Disease (CKD) patient for the past 10 years and he had everything in control by taking good care of himself. He used to get his regular checkups done with the well-known doctor of the town.

Video link- ">

In 2018 one night when he was returning from a wedding in Kolkata He had a cold and a cough. He had to skip his appointment with his doctor because of his busy schedule and he started complaining of chest pain and breathing. After one month, on 31st, December 2018, he started complaining of severe pain in his left shoulder. So we took him to the hospital emergency and contacted his consultant. There he was diagnosed with fluid inside his lungs. He got the fluid tested, and out of six, five were negative and one unfortunately came out to be positive for cancer. The doctor said there is nothing to worry about as it's Tuberculosis (TB). But my uncle's health did not get any better. Twice he got his lungs punctured for the fluid and got the Biopsy and PET scan done. Finally, it was diagnosed as RCC. RCC is a renal cancer that spreads into your body faster than any other cancer. Doctors informed them that his cancer was around stage three or four.

Challenges Faced During Renal Cancer

He was given an injection that gave him very bad side effects. His calcium dropped to 5 which was supposed to be around 10. He sometimes was unconscious and restless due to the side effects of the injection. We tried homeopathy, and Ayurvedic treatment also. But the situation wasn't getting any better. We found out that the size of his kidney had reduced a bit and the cancer has started to spread. We then went to Mumbai Nanavati Hospital where he got another injection for 21 days. He had a CT done in January. It was then found that the cyst had already spread to the back of the brain. Injection was to improve the immune system and kidney problems but not for the brain. He then could not stand or sit up straight for more than a minute. He always used to be positive but cancer made him lose all his hopes and he used to cry.

In March 2019 he had radiation treatment which was way more powerful than the previous one. He was not able to walk himself and we used to carry him everywhere. He was in severe pain, so we had to be with him all the time and cheer him up. We used to sit down with him and talk. This helped him a lot.

Life Lessons 

He was a happy person before cancer and used to spread happiness to people around him as well. In May, he could not bear the pain in his chest and neck. My aunt used to constantly stay up all night and my grandmother used to come every morning at five. One morning when my grandmother came to wake him up, he was gone. 

The positive thing about being on his journey was that it has provided me an opportunity to learn from him. He taught me what things to do and what not to do. He changed my whole mindset towards life. I wanted to be a chartered accountant but he taught me there are things in life which we have to follow other than education and getting money. My Uncle was passionate about fitness. And I love sports. We had that connection. I am thankful that I was around him and he taught me so much about life.