Sixty-five year old Saroj Arya recounts her triumph over Stage III ovarian cancer and says she pumped every cell in her body with positive energy and spirit to help her heal and get back on her feet speedily.
In 2016, at 65, a strange turn of events caught me off guard. I was due for a knee surgery as I had osteoarthritis and was in constant pain. I had confirmed the day for the surgery with the doctor. But last minute I got it cancelled. At that time my bladder was acting up. I would get an urge to go to the toilet, and the pressure would build up to such an extent that I feared I would soil my clothes. I realized I would not be able to rush to the washroom if I went ahead with the knee surgery. Hence, my bladder got priority.
The Diagnosis
The first test I had to undergo was a pelvic exam, followed by a sonography. My gynaecologist friend did not look happy with the results. She asked me whether I had any discomfort or a sense of bloating in the abdomen. No, I felt absolutely normal, I told her. She suggested an MRI and CT Scan to eliminate all doubts. The MRI reports revealed a tumour in the abdomen. Next I was taken to an oncologist where I was diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
The word ‘cancer’ did not bring my world crashing down. Needless to say, the news was disturbing, but I was not shattered. I didn’t feel ‘oh my god this is the end’. In fact, the doctor was surprised to see me so cool and composed. There was no fear. It was probably because I had accepted it as part of my life’s journey. Cancer was not new to me or my family. My mother had breast cancer, so did two of my aunts. I had seen cancer from close. I knew the course of treatment and its full implications.
To everyone’s surprise, my friend and I went for our meditation class straight from the oncologist’s clinic. My friend even asked me if I was okay, but I did not want to disrupt any of my schedules. I reached home late in the evening. It was then that I told my husband and son that I had been diagnosed with ovarian cancer.
Treatment
My oncologist and radiologist decided it would best if I was operated before chemotherapy. My surgery took 10 hours. The ovarian cancer had reached Stage III and along with the ovaries, the fallopian tube and part of the intestine had to be removed. A decade before my uterus had already been taken out through hysterectomy, as there was excessive bleeding and few uterine fibroids were found.
The postoperative phase was a bit trying as I felt restricted with surgical drains, tubes and catheters attached. I was allowed only 20 ml water for nearly a week. But not once did I complain. When I returned home, I had to get a hospital bed as my bed was too low and would cause exertion. I was not allowed to lift anything. But otherwise, I was moving normally and doing all my work at home. In fact, visitors would get surprised to see me back on my feet so soon.
I was advised 6 cycles of chemo. The chemo was no problem at all for me. An injection port had been installed beneath my shoulder for the administration of my injections. There was a bit of nausea and diarrhoea at the beginning but nothing worrisome. I was also administered Pegasta injections 24 hours after every chemo to regularise my platelet count. It gives a lot of pain in all the nerve endings. But I held on to my conviction and told myself that ‘this too shall pass’. Of course, the loss of hair was a bit unnerving, but I took out all my fancy scarves and hats and donned them stylishly.
I tried to get back to my regular routine as quickly as possible. I resumed my yoga, meditation, walks on the beach, meeting friends and outings. There was no constraint on my diet, except I could not eat anything raw. The 6 cycles of my chemo just flew by. Probably, what I missed most were my expeditions and travels to foreign lands as I am a huge travel buff.
My Support System
I think the prayers and good wishes of my family and friends worked wonders for me. They all stood behind me rock solid. My daughter would monitor my progress minutely. She read up a lot on cancer and was constantly supervising my diet, medications, exercises, etc. My friends would spoil me with good food and wholesome nourishment.
Thankfully, after the surgery, the pressure on my bladder eased out. My knee too improved. It could be because I lost 8 kgs during treatment and now weighed a healthy 62 kgs.
Acceptance
I think if you have complete faith in yourself and keep reaffirming that you are fine, you can achieve overwhelming results. Basically, you have to tell every cell in your body that you are doing great. Your cells are at your command and they listen to you. And eventually you do get enveloped in positive energy and spirit. That helps you heal faster. Also, at this time, you’ll find yourself getting inundated with hundreds of unsolicited recommendations, like if you consume this concoction, or take this medicine, your cancer will go. I would say, if you have faith in your doctor, follow his advice. I am grateful to doctors from Hinduja Hospital - Dr Hemanth Tongaokar and Dr Ganesh Nagrajan who performed the surgery and my chemo oncologist Dr Sachin Almel for taking excellent care.
I would get thumbs up from all whom I met because they would see me challenging myself and not surrendering or becoming weak. My friends and relatives were proud about how I was managing so boldly. I would never try and hide myself in the shadows. I would attend all events and functions despite losing my hair. I went out for lunches and birthday parties. I even went to Jaipur in between my chemo. I had accepted my condition totally. That gave plenty of strength to tide over my cancer.
Ovarian cancer gets difficult to detect as it lacks specific symptoms. Most women mistake it for abdominal or gastrointestinal (GI) complaints or even bladder problems. As one is not being screened for ovarian cancer on a regular basis, it often goes undiagnosed till it reaches an advanced stage and has spread to other areas. I would exhort that along with mammography and Pap smear, women should also get a pelvic exam done routinely to be safe.
