Cancer survivors from the city have become active advocates in providing counselling to patients who are currently battling cancer. The survivors have realised that to undergo the treatment process for cancer, a lot of emotional and mental support is required, which they encountered during their own journey and now want to provide the same support to cancer patients. Every year February 4 is celebrated as World Cancer Day.
Vanaja Ramisetty, a senior professional from the telecom industry in 2017 was diagnosed with stage 3 breast cancer. She had to undergo 18 sessions of chemotherapy followed by a mastectomy (removal of breast through surgery). While speaking to The Hindu, Vanaja said “There was a time when I really wanted to give up because I couldn’t bear the pain of chemotherapy, but all said and done I would see small children going through the same treatment which then brought me back. A lot of them because of the fear of taking harsh steps which triggered me to become a cancer recovery support coach.”
During her treatment, she enrolled herself as a health coach at California Institute of Integral Studies. “To share my own cancer experience with people who are affected with cancer, I took the initiative of speaking to as many cancer patients as possible and mentally preparing them to take up the treatment and advise them on the do’s and don’ts of the cancer recovery process.”.
Vishnudeo Chaubey, a businessman from Hyderabad was diagnosed with stage 3 throat cancer in 2004. He then had to undergo 6 chemotherapy sessions and 36 radiation sessions. After overcoming cancer, he has been continuously in touch with his oncologist and is always ready to talk to people who have been diagnosed with cancer. “I share my journey with the patients and try to support them mentally in whatever way they can, many people have a lot of side-effects after undergoing chemotherapy, sharing our experience helps them in their journey,” he added.
Meanwhile, oncoligsts suggest that the coaches should only do the bridging work. Dr C Sairam, Senior Oncologist at MNJ Cancer Hospital, Hyderabad, said the coaches can direct the patients to the right doctors and remove the fear of facing the doctors. He also added that there are about 30,000 cervical cancer deaths in India every year. Other countries have a universal vaccine programme to fight cervical cancer, which is still not available in India. The governments priority should be to save women from the disease.
Published - February 03, 2023 10:27 pm IST
