મને એક આક્રમક સ્વરૂપનું નિદાન થયું હતું સ્તન નો રોગ. સામાન્ય શરદી સિવાય હું પહેલાં ક્યારેય બીમાર થયો નથી અને મને કોઈ મોટી સ્વાસ્થ્ય સમસ્યાઓ નહોતી. હું સ્કૂલ સિસ્ટમમાં કામ કરતો હતો. મેં દર વર્ષે મારા મેમોગ્રામ કરાવવાની આદત બનાવી છે, જે હું દરેકને કહીશ કે સ્ત્રી અને પુરુષ બંને માટે ખૂબ જ મહત્વપૂર્ણ છે. તમારા મેમોગ્રામ મેળવો! 10 થી 15 વર્ષથી, હું ડિસેમ્બરના અંતમાં મારા મેમોગ્રામ કરાવું છું. મેં ડિસેમ્બરનો અંત પસંદ કર્યો કારણ કે તે વર્ષનો અંત અને નવા વર્ષની શરૂઆત છે.

નિદાન 

I was okay in that particular year, did my mammogram, and traveled to Mexico on vacation. And while on vacation, my phone just continued to ring, it was a 609 number, which happened to be the area where I lived in New Jersey, and it was an office number from the place where I had my mammogram. At that very moment, it was my first day on vacation, and I thought. Am I just going to let this ruin my vacation?. Because, honestly, I knew what it was. I knew that family knew where I was, and the only reason I would be getting this call was simply that something did not go well with my mammogram. 

જર્ની

Fast forward, my journey has been lumpectomy, chemotherapy, radiation and three years of clinical trials. It was very tough. I was 50 years old when getting diagnosed with breast cancer. My daughter was grown up, I had a granddaughter, and the first thing I thought of, like most people diagnosed with cancer, Am I going to die? Emotionally, that was the biggest thing on my mind. I wanted to be here, I wanted to see my daughter grow up, and I wanted to see my granddaughter grow. To hear the words, you have breast cancer was very devastating. I think each person reacts to those words differently, and it was, in fact, very frightening. I felt the need for emotional support. I needed to be around people that could support me and help lift my spirits because there were moments. Sometimes you feel like you are going into depression because of the word cancer, which is very frightening. My support system was and is my family. At that time, I was working in a school system at Princeton, New Jersey, and I was very fortunate to have someone to inform me about the Princeton સ્તન નો રોગ Resource Centre. I spent a lot of time at the Resource Centre among other survivors who had experienced what I was beginning to go through. I find it essential to be around a support group.

Mainly because there are people who know first-hand what you are going through in a support group. Sometimes, when you are talking to someone, you dont get the level of understanding you are looking for, and I can remember a time with chemotherapy. કિમોચિકિત્સાઃ was probably one of the most challenging things I have ever experienced. I remember having chemo, and the very next day, I was okay. But maybe on day two, it hit like a ton of bricks. I couldnt even get up from the sofa in my living room and walk to the kitchen, which was not that far without being exhausted. It was fatigue that I could not understand, and people used to say eat more green vegetables and drink more water. There was absolutely nothing that I could have done to ease that fatigue from chemotherapy. 

જર્ની દરમિયાન મને શું સકારાત્મક રાખ્યું

Dealing with the chemo was very, very tough. But I knew that I was getting something that was killing the cancer cells and also at the same time killing the good cells. So, it was a balance, but I chose to do that because I wanted to have the peace of mind just knowing that if its there, I am going to give it a try, I am going to see, and I am going to do everything that I can, and I am grateful to be here with you fifteen years later. 

When you go to a physicians office, you are mostly being treated like a number at the deli line, but I needed someone who would be with me and care for me because you will be with that oncologist for quite some time. Even now, although I live closer in the DC-Maryland area and my oncologist is in New Jersey, because of my relationship with him, I travel once a year back to New Jersey for my follow-ups. So, it is essential while having technology and physicians to have oncologists that care for what they are doing.

કેન્સર જર્ની દરમિયાન પાઠ

I no longer accept poor treatment. I will quickly walk out and away from anything that does not bring peace or add peace, joy, and tranquility to my life because I realized that life is precious. Did I pay attention to that before breast cancer? Absolutely no. But when you hear those words that you have cancer and go through a journey, you realize that life is so precious. So, I have made some significant changes, starting from moving from New Jersey to being closer to my daughter and granddaughter. I am not accepting jobs that are not fulfilling or good to me, and I have eliminated people in my life who had been in my life for a long time. But sometimes, when you make significant changes, people dont understand why. But I am doing it for myself to continue to live and keep the smile on my face. 

જીવનમાં આભારી

તે ખરેખર એક મુસાફરી રહી છે, પરંતુ હું ખૂબ આભારી છું કે બધું સારું રહ્યું, અને હું કેન્સર મુક્ત છું. હું દરેકને તેમના શરીરને શીખવા માટે સમય કાઢવા પ્રોત્સાહિત કરું છું. જો કંઈક યોગ્ય ન લાગે, તો તેને તપાસો. ખાસ કરીને સ્તન સાથે કેન્સર, ક્યારેક તમે હંમેશા તે તરત જ જાણતા નથી. તેથી, મેમોગ્રામ પ્રામાણિકપણે મારા જીવનને બચાવવા માટે એક મહત્વપૂર્ણ પરિબળ છે. હું જેમાંથી પસાર થયો તેના માટે હું આભારી છું કારણ કે, સાચું કહું તો, તેણે મારું જીવન હંમેશ માટે બદલી નાખ્યું.

જીવનમાં દયાનું કાર્ય 

The day my oncologist said, Dee, you are cancer-free, I cried. I cried because the journey was not easy, but I made it. I promised my oncologist on that day that, walking from this very moment, I would devote my life to educating, inspiring, and motivating anyone who crosses my path. That is what being a cancer-free patient does. Stay positive, stay around positive people and feel uplifted and give it your best.

વિદાય સંદેશ 

My message is to live, love, and laugh as much as you possibly can and surround yourself with people who care for you and people who will be there to support you because there is never a day that I dont think about breast cancer. 

મારી પાસે મારી હોમ ઑફિસમાં સ્વિટ્ઝર્લૅન્ડમાં મને મળેલી એક યુવતીની તસવીર છે. અમે સાથે મુસાફરી કરી, અને અમે ફાર્માસ્યુટિકલ કંપની માટે પેનલ પર વાત કરીશું. લગભગ એક વર્ષ પહેલાં, મને એક ટેક્સ્ટ મળ્યો કે તેણી તેની લડાઈ હારી ગઈ છે, અને જ્યારે પણ હું મારી હોમ ઑફિસમાં ગયો ત્યારે તે મને સ્પર્શી ગયો. અમે સાથે હસી પડ્યા, અમે પેનલિસ્ટ તરીકે સાથે હતા, અને હવે તે જતી રહી છે. હું ફક્ત મારા માટે જ લડતો નથી; હું એવા દરેક લોકો માટે લડી રહ્યો છું કે જેઓ મારા જીવનનો એક ભાગ છે અને તેમનું જીવન ગુમાવ્યું છે અને જે લોકો સ્તન કેન્સરમાંથી પસાર થઈ રહ્યા છે.