RAMENDRA, India

It all started in 2021, with minor bloating and indigestion. Then there was blood in my stool. That was when the alarm rang. A colonoscopy and biopsy followed, and then the verdict slammed into me in November: I had colon cancer.
After coming out from the doctor’s chamber, my family and I went to the hospital canteen and there I simply cut loose–I raved, I ranted, “Why me? Poor me, how come me? I don’t drink, I don’t smoke, I swim regularly. I was fit.” Then I saw the faces of my family simply crumple. It was as if they were seeing my death in my own eyes. Then I decided that I couldn’t do this to my family. For me, my family always came first. So, as a writer, a storyteller, and an inspirational speaker, I decided to shift the paradigm. I decided to re-write my own script, live it, and love it.

My first surgery, a major one, in which my colon was removed, the small instestine brought out and a stoma bag fitted to collect the faecal matter went off like a breeze. However the reconnecting surgery went completely haywire and I went into my first septic shock followed by two more. The probability of surviving a septic shock is only 30%--I knocked on the door of Death three times, and went back to the kingdom of the living. I also endured four surgeries in all, several cycles of chemotherapy and radiation, and spent 40 days in the ICU, moving in and out from very critical conditions. When my family visited me in the evening, they had no guarantee of seeing me alive the next morning.

I followed my personal mantra of 'managing every tumour with humour'. My daughter Ankita & I created a dance video, two days after my radiation, with an inspirational message on how to fight Cancer. The video went viral & notched up 235 K views on Instagram and is still trending.
I participated in panel discussions, interviews, posted parodies and poems. I filled social media with funny and quirky messages.
There were several occasions when I was struck by tidal waves of black depression. But I never allowed them to overwhelm me.
My greatest support system throughout this terrible ordeal has been my family. The lives of the terrific trio had become a relentless syndrome of visits to the hospital, meetings with the doctors, a few hours at home and back again– each moment alternating between dread and relief despair
and hope. But in all this chaos none of them pressed the panic button. They never lost hope nor faith in the doctors. And they never, ever gave me a glimpse of the Hades to which I had travelled quite a few times.
My foul weather friends also rallied around with messages and calls. Prayers in different places of worship, invocations, columns in newspapers, posts in social media…. I was simply amazed at the love, affection, concern and blessings I was inundated with.
My family, my friends and I managed to create an ecosystem of positivity – a universe, which helped me claw back, quite literally, from the jaws of death.

My onco doctors were supportive throughout and did the very best they could. However, I developed a condition called 'Diabetes Insipidus' which they took a long time in diagnosing and treating.

For me the most important take away from my cancer experience is that ‘the worst of times, often bring out the best in you.’
To anyone battling cacner I would suggest the following:
 Don’t take yourself too seriously. Boil on the bum or your bum on the boil – try to see the ridiculous in the sublime.
 Pursue a passion. It can be music, painting, gardening, reading, cooking et al. This will keep your mind occupied in a productive activity and will not allow negative thoughts and anxieties to invade your space.
 Build relationships. In the rodent race called life we often forget to forge and strengthen relationships. You have heard of Anytime Money or ATM card. I have created a new card - ATM - or ‘Anytime Memory’ Card. The most precious gift you can give your family and friends is not money or things which money can buy. It is a bundle of memories – each a gossamer fabric of fun and togetherness. And how is this fabric created – with two four letter words - Love & Time. So go ahead and create memories and stock up your new ATM. And whenever there is a crisis ‘encash’ it.
 Practice mindfulness which is defined as living in the moment. I found my mindfulness in my writing. The hours which I devote to my creativity every day, I am living life to the fullest.
 Be optimistic. This attitude will have a cascading effect. Those around you too will be caressed by hope and they will respond in the same way. And together you will create an ecosystem of positivity which will offer you solace, succour and strength.