Vikas and Anita Ranjan (Brain Cancer Survivor) Count Your Blessings

Vikass Cancer Journey: 

My journey started 18 months ago, before the lockdown. It was my 55th birthday. I was having symptoms of cancer. I was having difficulty holding things. I told this to my wife, and she asked me to do a full-body check-up. We went to a local hospital. They asked for my symptoms. We went to a neurosurgeon. He asked me to do an MRI. Once the MRI was completed. When we met the doctor for results, he gave us hints regarding brain cancer or tumours. He asked us to wait for the final result. 

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He was trying to make us calm. I was taken aback. Life was smooth. We were broken down. He asked me not to drive. He had given us an option to do brain cancer surgery. We came back home and visited many doctors. Everyone said that surgery is inevitable. They told us to do the surgery, at the earliest. 

We went to one of the leading hospitals in Chandigarh. We got the earlier dates. It happened on the 4th of March, a day before my birthday. The surgeon was moving out of the country, but he still did the surgery. Anything can happen after the surgery. 80-85% tumor was removed. COVID happened. Post treatments, radiation, and chemo were started. I had severe constipation. I almost fainted in the washroom. Everyone at home was scared. 

I realized that this is not a small thing. The blood counts and oral tablets were always taken into account. My blood count used to drop, and the doctors panicked. The doctors told us to be prepared. 

There was a nasty doctor who told us to stop the treatment since it wasn't working. We started searching for other doctors. We consulted another doctor, and the treatment started. The blood count came back normal. Don't panic and play cool. By November, we finished with 6 cycles of chemotherapy. 

In this journey, I was very demotivated. I being an Army man, used to fight at the borders. All the negativity was getting to me. Enjoy today and don't regret it. I have a daughter and a son. They were supportive. One of our friends recommended ZenOnco.io. We joined as we wanted to listen to positive talks.

We wanted to win and didn't want to lose. I only had two months to live. God, my family, and my friends were always there for me. We came to know all the different therapies. We also got to know about non-cancer diets. We also went to a nutritionist and took wheat off from our diet. Dimple from ZenOnco.io suggested a good Nutritionist. 

We searched the internet for cancer patients from Bombay so we could talk and share our stories with them. I wanted to fight it off. There were days when things were low. It gives you more strength

Treatment: 

Every 14 days I had to go to the hospital. The medicine was supporting me. Chemo did take a toll on my health. I used to get mood swings. The caregivers need to put themselves in the cancer patient's shoes. 

I was living but I was on the tip of the iceberg. Live life as it comes. COVID has been a boon. My wife was always there for me. I was working, and after the chemo, I used to come back tired. I did not have any deformity after the Brain cancer surgery. I have been blessed. We must count our blessings. 

Recently, I have been on CBD oil. I was very nauseous, but it's very little now. I have to have chemo until my last breath. I consume a lot of coconut water and juicy vegetables. 

I have punching bags. I do have breakdown sessions. My daughter is married. She is married in Pune. They are very accepting.

Message:

Do not google things. 9 months have already passed. Whatever Google says is not 100% true. I am off sugar, rice, and wheat. Yoga helps a lot. Take things into your stride. You find your takeaways from your journey and learn and grow from them. Never compare your journey to someone else. If you can console a single soul, your pain can be gone.