When The Fear Of Death Died !
BY
R.K. MISRA
Uss
gali meein kuch hua, iss khabar se mar gaye !
Aur
phir kuch log, marjane ke darr se marr gaye !!
So
says an eminent Urdu poet . He speaks of the phantom fallacy of a panic-stricken
mentality when the mere news of happenings across the street caused some to die
while others perished, felled by just the fear of dying.
Cancer
kills but the fear of cancer kills faster. Walk into a cancer care clinic and a
miasma of despair hangs heavy. Emotions spread taunt on stressed faces,
giveaway creases on knitted brows, and an anxious demeanor vainly dodging
doomsday prophecies is plastered all over.
Unlike the star reporters of today, the journalism
of yore frowned on the faintest attempt at putting self before news. The story
spoke and the byline bore the burden. This once, a sliver
of liberty would be in order for I am both the subject and the object of this
engagement having faced the diagnosis and fought the disease over the last one
year.
I bow my head in respect for those who fell
victim to fear and gave up as well as the ones who fought valiantly but in
vain. I raise it to salute the fighting spirit of millions who resolutely refuse
to be cowed by dread and remain the standard bearers of faith.
Today,
February 4, is World Cancer Day observed to raise awareness and encourage its
prevention, detection and treatment. Led by the Union for International Cancer
Control(UICC) in support of the World Cancer declaration,2008,it is observed by
the United Nations and targets misinformation, raises awareness and works to
reduce stigma. The themes for the years 2025-2027 is “United by Unique” and
places people at the centre of care and their stories at the heart of the
conversation.
It is
normal to feel frightened, anxious and even panicky when you are diagnosed with
cancer. Was it not something that always happened to others? Why me? is the
next question that corrodes logical thinking. A 14-hour work day and an
incessantly pre-occupied ‘upper crust’ was brought to a grinding halt by a
first prognosis. A round robin ‘tournament’ of tests confirmed the diagnosis.
”Oh, but the prostate variety you carry is the prince of cancers. There are
much deadlier dragons cruising the cancer world” opined a urologist seeking to
make light of an ashen-faced fellow’s fears. Senior surgical oncologist Dr
Kinnar Shah was more direct, advising surgery soonest. Dr Chirag Desai, one of
the most dynamic oncologists in the country concurred.
The
surgical intervention done and over with, one hoped for better times. These
seemed to be at handshaking distance but then there is many a slip between the
cup and the lip. And the slide began.
Another
round of tests confirmed the worst fears. The cancer had metastasized or in
other words while the prostate had cleaned up, another form of it had spread,
moving on to the liver, part of the lungs and even the collar bone.
It
was the final frontier. Appetite evaporated, the smell of food turned
repulsive, silence was soothing, talking too taxing, turning sides in bed was
akin to climbing Mount Everest, the toilet, a torment and the weight down, a 30
kilogram.” Medicines alone are not enough, it’s your battle, you have to fight
it with every ounce of will power your frail body can summon” ran the constant
refrain from physician Desai. Given into his medical care, the super-specialist
was straddling a thin line with a 75 year old newshounds battered body and its
ability to withstand chemotherapy and such other medicines.
As
life ebbs and the end stares one in the face, it leaves just one of two
choices. The easier one is to give- in and slink away silently while the
difficult one is to face, fight and forge back into reckoning. Hanging from a
cliff, the abyss is enticing when the hands are bone-tired.
The only thing that stood in between the two
were the apprehensive faces of a family in distress straining every nerve and
muscle to reclaim hope for their loved one. When they just refused to throw in
the towel, how could I let go of life? And so began the arduous trek back, inch
piled on weary inch. It has taken months and the return journey still
continues. ”Like there are no temporary beginnings, there are also no permanent
endings. The watchword is caution, lifestyle changes and constant monitoring”,
says the doctor adding “life is a gift, live it properly”. So one has picked up
the threads of life and gone back to work. Meanwhile, there is a tacit pact
with the disease. Let sleeping dogs lie. You don’t harass me, I won’t kill you.
In this entire process there is one major takeaway. The fear of death has died.
This
is not my story alone but that of the predicaments, possibilities, and
probabilities of numerous others battling the dread and the disease.
According
to the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCON) estimates, there were 19.3 million
cancer cases worldwide for the year 2020.India ranked third after China and the
USA.GLOBOCON predicted that cancer cases in India would increase to 2.08
million accounting for a rise of 57.5 per cent in 2040 from 2020.
As
of July 2023, Gujarat had 73,382 cancer patients while India accounted for
14,61,427 cancer cases in 2022. In 2020 Gujarat had 69,660 cancer cases and
India had 13, 92,179 cases.
According to the Indian Journal of Medical Research the crude rate of the cases of cancer in India stood at 100.4 per 100,000 .In India, one in nine people are likely to develop cancer in their life time and the incidence of cancer cases is estimated to increase by 12.8 per cent in 2025 as compared to 2020.
This syndicated news column was published in the Indian newspapers Orissapost and Lokmat Times editions dated February 4, 2025 . Their links are given below:-
https://epaper.lokmat.com/articlepage.php?articleid=LOKTIME_NPLT_20250204_6_1
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