Under den tiden var cancer praktiskt taget en dödsdom i vårt samhälle. Även i filmer visades det att diagnosen cancer innebar att personen skulle dö inom några dagar. Därför är min man Non-Hodgkins Lymfom diagnosen kom som en stor chock för oss.

Non-Hodgkins lymfomdiagnos

My husband was in the Army, and while he was posted in Delhi around 15 years back, he had a routine health check-up. He opened up to the doctor that there was a small lump that he could feel behind his neck when he used to shave or take a bath and asked the doctor to take a closer look at it. The doctor asked for a couple of tests and asked him to wait for the reports. After the reports came, the doctor told him that there were some problems with the results, and therefore he needed to see an Oncologist. That was the first time that we were hearing the word Oncology or Oncologist. The doctor took him to the Oncology department, and he met the Head of the Department, Dr Dhar, who is now a retired Brigadier and was a Colonel then. Dr Dhar studied the reports and told him that it was a cancer called Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. He also explained to my husband the treatment procedures for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma and gave him confidence that it was treatable.

My husband came back home lost in his thoughts, had his lunch and hardly talked to me. Later, I asked him how was his reports. He told me that he had Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma, a type of cancer. When he told me about his cancer, I was emotionless and numb. I didn't know what to say or how to react, which can be the same for most of us because none of us are brave; the situations make us brave. He told me that the doctors said not to worry and that he would be alright, which gave me hope to fight this disease.

During that time, cancer was practically a death sentence in our society. Even in films, it was shown that being diagnosed with cancer meant that the person would die within a few days. Therefore, the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma diagnosis came as a shock to us, but we had faith in the doctors, and God, and not even for a single second did I feel that he would not be with us. We decided to pass this test with flying colours. We took it as a challenge and decided that we would see whatever that comes on our way.

Behandling av icke-Hodgkins lymfom

Vi var tillsammans för det mesta. Han blev aldrig insläppt; han brukade ta Kemoterapi sessions. We made sure that everything was taken care of and kept on doing what the doctors told us to. The most important things that helped us a lot are music and positivity. My children were young, my son was doing engineering, and my daughter was in class 9th. Though they were young, they behaved very maturely. We all were living our lives as normal as we could.

Han var okej efter sex cykler av kemoterapi, men efter två år fick han ett återfall och det låggradiga non-Hodgkins lymfom förvandlades till höggradig cancer, vilket blev den tuffaste delen av vår resa. Han fick rådet att gå för en benmärgstransplantation. Vi var instängda i ett rum för hans BMT, och mina barn var utanför. Min dotter hade styrelseprov på den tiden. Han var farligt sjuk och de båda kan ha haft stor press på sin mentala hälsa under de 30 dagarna. Alla av oss hade mycket tålamod och uthållighet.

Det var tufft för honom. Han var väldigt svag och utvecklade en infektion, men han kämpade med allt väldigt tappert. Gud var med oss ​​och log mot oss, och han hade olika avsikter för oss.

Det gick bra och han var okej. Läkarna var alltid med oss ​​och de stöttade honom oerhört. Alla sjuksköterskor och sjukhuspersonal blev som en familj. Vi firade jul, nyår, vår årsdag och hans födelsedag med dem. Vi hade det bästa teamet av läkare med oss.

Vi hade alltid familjestöd och alla var med oss ​​under hela resan. Vi höll oss borta från de negativa sakerna.

Non-Hodgkins lymfom: Det tredje återfallet

Efter sin benmärgstransplantation var han i remission i fem år, och vi var så glada att det hade gått fem år, och han var cancerfri. Läkarna hade rådet honom att genomgå en SÄLLSKAPSDJUR skanning var sjätte månad, vilket han gjorde regelbundet.

During one such PET scan, the doctors found that the Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma had relapsed again. There were a lot of discussions on what treatment to give him. The doctors avoided chemotherapy for six months because they felt it would deteriorate his health further, but after that, it was the only option left.

He was supposed to undergo chemotherapy when our daughter was getting married, so he said that we would go for chemotherapy later and let's first focus on our daughter's marriage. Our daughter postponed her marriage after discussing it with her fiance and in-laws so that he could get proper treatment. Later, he took six cycles of Chemotherapy and took one month to recover. After his recovery, we got our daughter married.

Vi hade alltid ett positivt tänkesätt, och vi lät aldrig cancer skada vårt mentala tillstånd.

Våra lärdomar

Vårdgivare bör ta hand om sig själva, särskilt när de behöver ta itu med en cancerpatient. Vi åt alla vad min man åt. Vi lärde oss många saker. Det var den tiden då vi verkligen började uppskatta andra människors arbete för annars är man så upptagen i sina liv att man inte märker allt så djupt.

We started enjoying all the little things in life. What we have today is the best, so just enjoy today and leave the rest to destiny. Our faith and positivity helped us to sail through all those things. God was always with us, and there was a lot of positivity with which we always moved forward.

Efter vår cancerresa tog jag en MSc i Nutrition, och nu är jag nutritionist. Jag är förtjust i att lyssna på musik och brukade lyssna på musik när jag kände mig låg under hela min vårdresa.

Jag gillade aldrig att få sympati från andra. Jag delade inte cancernyheterna med många människor eftersom människor tenderar att sympatisera med oss ​​snarare än att behandla oss som vanligt som tidigare. Jag stängde av negativa människor från mitt liv eftersom min familjs mentala frid var viktigare.

Ingen är redo för dåliga tider; du blir modig när dåliga tider kommer i ditt liv. Motgångar gör oss modiga.

Avskedsmeddelande

When God gives us many good days, we don't ask him why he is giving us so much happiness. Then why should we ask 'why me' when he gives us little problems? We should take whatever comes our way. Take everything as a blessing, and you will be able to deal with everything. Be positive and happy. Be busy and keep doing exercises as they are good for your mental and physical health. Smile as often as you can.

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