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Submitted by Mona Choudhuri on 19 October 2020
Early stage Ovarian cancer Mona Choudhuri

Mona Choudhuri considers herself very lucky to have been diagnosed in the early stages of ovarian cancer. Here she shares her experience to help raise awareness of the importance of routine physical examinations and screenings for women. She also highlights the issue of lymphedema of the leg. 

Ovarian cancer was never on my radar of health concerns.

It was fibroids in my uterus that had been my constant worry since my mid-30s. I would have discomfort, bloating and frequent abdominal pain. I was in touch with my gynaecologist Dr Nisha Ohri on a regular basis. She had prescribed some medicines to control the growth of fibroids and had had been examining me every year. She was quite particular about my annual check-ups and over the years I had developed a close rapport with her.

In August 2016, four days before my fiftieth birthday, I went for my ultrasound which had been prescribed by my gynae. The doctor found something not good and recommended a MRI and a PET scan. The results showed that I had a tumour in my left ovary. So you see how the tumour grows without any pain or major discomfort. What is common during this time is some bloating but then women often experience bloating which doesn’t ring any alarm bells.

Dr. Ohri immediately fixed up an appointment for me with Dr Amish Chaudhary, Surgical Oncologist at Max Healthcare hospital. Within 48 hours I was operated. I had my uterus removed, along with both ovaries, the appendix, omentum and lymph nodes, etc. The biopsy had indicated that I had Phase I ovarian cancer. I was a rare case.

Dr Chaudhary said that I was one of those rare cases to be detected early with ovarian cancer when it was small and localized. I had high-grade Stage IA (when cancer is contained inside one ovary only) ovarian cancer. He said my case was ‘unbelievable’ because ovarian cancer has no symptom in the early stages and often goes undetected till it has spread within the pelvis and abdomen. As a surgeon, he said, he had not seen such early detection in years, as most cases of ovarian cancer come in Stage 3 when the cancer is more advanced.

My case was referred to the tumour board meetings of specialised doctors at Max as being an example of a person going for regular check-ups and detecting cancer early. Most women are supposed to go for routine physical examination and screenings, but they don’t. So I am forever grateful to Dr. Nisha Ohri for pushing me for regular check-ups. In fact I owe my life to her.

Chemotherapy

After the surgery, I came home within five days. I am a single woman, with no siblings and partner. I used to live with my parents, but they had both passed away a decade ago. I lost my Mom to lung cancer in 2010. She was diagnosed very late.

I was advised six cycles of chemotherapy. They began within 3 weeks of my surgery. For the first cycle, I had hired a driver to take me to the hospital. But I realised he was not sensitive to bumps and bad roads, so I began driving myself. People around me would exclaim: ‘Oh my god, how can you drive,’ and I would shoot back annoyingly, ‘Why…what’s wrong. My legs are okay.’ That’s how I started my treatment, just thinking I am normal. Dr. P.K. Julka, Oncologist, overseeing my chemotherapy would say that he has treated lakhs of patients, but he had he had not seen any patient till date who drove to the hospital for her/his own chemo.

Food

I was advised to consume plenty of protein to help with the rebuilding of the body from chemotherapy and concentrate on food to keep my haemoglobin up. That’s one thing I really focussed on by eating plenty of:

  • Beetroot
  • Spinach
  • Eggs
  • Chicken and Fish and indulged in red meat more often than I did earlier. Being a Bengali helped as we do consume a fair amount of non-vegetarian protein.
  • Pomegranate
  • Amla (gooseberry)
  • Yogurt and chaas
  • Apple and oranges

Since I was looking after my mom when she had cancer, I was conscious of what to eat to keep the blood count up. Your vitals have to be in order to ensure your chemo cycles do not get postponed. I didn’t want all that. I have no support at home, except my maid, which has made me fiercely independent. I knew I had to do everything myself. I worked hard to keep my mood up, my blood count up. Going to work was the biggest mood lifter. Because when you are immersed in work, you forget about your illness for the moment. For this I am ever grateful to Dr. Julka who pushed me to go to work saying that he would not prescribe medical leave as there was nothing wrong with me!! His advice was to take chemo in the morning and go to work in the afternoon – which I didn’t do of course! But went to work regularly during chemotherapy.

I am extremely grateful to my cousin from America who came running to be with me the moment she heard about the diagnosis. Sharmila was with me within a week of my surgery and stayed till after my first chemo. I can never thank her enough for dropping everything to rush to my side. My friends in Delhi too were most supportive and made a roster to stay with me in the hospital post-surgery. I was never left alone in the hospital, one of them would appear every 12 hours!!! I spent my 50th birthday, just two days after the surgery, in the hospital and though I was in great pain, I was surrounded with friends.

Hair

And I’ll talk about my hair. Because that was a big thing. The day I went to get my stitches removed, my surgeon said, ‘Go…get your head shaved. Your hair will fall with chemo. And you can get a wig.’ I came home that day and started googgling for wigs for cancer. I finally got a wig from a vendor who saw my natural hair (the picture above is with a wig) and matched it with a wig made of real hair, which is what I wanted. To make it look stylish and natural, I did something which not many people do. I styled, streaked and cut my wig to suit me. I might as well look good for the next six months, I reasoned. You can sit at home and cry about it or do things that cheer you up. Like there were days, when I would don my wig, dress up and enjoy an outing or a go to a restaurant. It was fun I must say that I wish I could have gone out bald or with a scarf but couldn’t because I guess I didn’t have the confidence to do that. And also because it attracts too much of attention and questions about your health. I just wanted to be treated like a normal person and the wig really helped because most people I met didn’t even realize that I was wearing one and therefore had no idea about my medical condition. Exactly what I wanted!

Volunteer for cancer patients

After my third and fourth chemo, Max Hospital made a short film about my cancer journey which they used to play in their foyer and waiting area. The emphasis was on early diagnosis and how to stay safe and independent during cancer treatment. My story was also a source of encouragement to others.

Pic:  Mona with her hair having grown back

I also became a volunteer at Max cancer centre. I used to talk to patients during their chemo sessions, allay their fears and give them my example of recovery. I used to tell the families to relax and not to consider cancer as a death warrant. I used to tell them if they really wanted to help their ward, they should let them do as much as he or she could possibly do. Let them exercise, let them go out for a walk, let them be as normal as possible. Families mean well but often tend to overdo the helping bit which doesn’t really help the patient.

Lymphedema

Though I have recovered from ovarian cancer, I am left with a side effect. Because my lymph nodes were removed, I developed lymphedema on my right leg two years after my surgery. My right leg is quite swollen. I have to wear compression stockings all the time. I have also bought a pneumatic compression machine to do the leg compression at home. I learnt how to do the lymph drainage massage. I have to work on my leg for almost an hour and a half daily. Every massage session takes about an hour everyday. I have to do it myself. During the Covid lockdown, the swelling had flared up quite a bit and I had to go for intense physiotherapy. I can’t wear all kinds of shoes now, I can’t wear short dresses like before because I’ve got this compression stocking on all the time. So now I wear these long dresses. It is not easy, but I have come to terms with it. While this development often gets me down, I feel it could have been worse and am grateful for my recovery and good health.

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