Survival – an instinct or extension granted by the Almighty!

Survival – an  instinct or extension granted by the Almighty!

In our pursuit to build an institution for spreading awareness about breast cancer and hope for patients affected, several initiatives have been taken. Some involve the community. Eminent doctors from hospitals are invited for a presentation about the malaise and the ways in which one can help early detection which in turn improves considerably,the probability of survival.

Women folk have a cherished unsaid motto of family first and tend to ignore their own health over priorities of the family .Breast tumor may be of the size of a pea grain initially but can grow very fast if overlooked.  Being emotional,even a fear sets in about disclosing to the family or society.  Hence to underscore the importance of immediate action, Maina Foundation collaborated with Dr. Vaze of Nagpur in production ofa film : Zizak kaisi.(why the hesitation) 

Another initiative is to help some of the marginal patients who are operated for free at the Tata Memorial Hospital but do not have even the basic resources to fund post operative care, be it chemo or radiation.

The credo of Maina Foundation is‘Join hands to fight breast cancer’. Accordingly, Maina Foundation is at forefront in collaborating with hospitals and health centers to donate mammography machines.

A recent collaboration has been with a like minded institutions:  IamHER2. There are many types and stages of breast cancer and around 1.5 lakh new patients (As of 2014) are diagnosed annually, of which nearly 25 per cent cases (1 in 5) are HER2-positive and eligible for treatment with targeted therapies.

While working with the patients,one of the need areas we felt was to have testimonies from survivors as that could give hope to other less fortunate to have the will to struggle. Some survivors readily wrote their story while some others expressed apology as they did not wish to relive the circumstance gain in their memory. A valid point we thought.

In our pursuit to collect more stories, I was approaching a survivor so that she could write her story. When I narrated our mission, she was very encouraging. Yet she refused to write the story as she said that her survival was just that God had decided to give her extension of life. She said that there were 17 women in the hospital, when she was admitted and only three survived. So those three were the chosen ones.There is nothing creditable on the patient’s part in the recovery. It is all doctors’skills and God’s will.

She said women by nature are tough and also over the years get toughened. So it is far easier for a woman to recover than a man.  While she was narrating her experience she mentioned a few do’s and don’ts.

She said visitors who come to visit are more interested in narrating how other ladies suffering from similar disease,had died. To one such visitor she said, ‘please narrate a story of success rather than death. Or else at least refrain from narrating failures’. As it is the patient is mustering up courage against all odds and such visitors create nuisance value rather than empathy.

Another important thing is to go through the entire process of treatment as recommended by the doctor with full faith and not to use one’s own judgment to decide the line of treatment or interfere with borrowed opinion. Take your time to decide which doctor you would like to approach based on cost benefit analysis as these treatments are extremely costly. Once a doctor has been decided, leave all decisions to his wisdom.

Around the time that she was diagnosed for breast cancer, there were two deaths in the family. So people already concluded that she will be third in row to complete the sequence. How crude and rude? Please think of the patient’s psychology she urged. Please give her hope. Albeit there are support groups and websites that help the patient with guidance yet the atmosphere surrounding the patient is that of melancholy as if the patient has already passed away.

Worst of all she mentioned was that her grandson was born around the same time. People brashly remarked that he was a bad omen. Now what is it that the innocent child had done? She said painfully.

Let us all be truly empathetic while visiting a patient. Let us pledge to inspire the patient rather than discourage him. Remember as it is the patient is undergoing a trauma and don’t let her go down the abyss.

She opened my eyes to a great new truth: There is nothing creditable on the part of the survivor: It is all God’s design.

Anagha Hunnurkar

3^rd May 2015