Cancer
The smoke rings are not worth this
Nilakanta Siva recounts how his smoking habit caught up with him later in life well after he had kicked the habit. He now lives without a bladder, prostate, several lymph nodes and a solitary kidney. And wishes he had not started smoking. “Hey, Siva…
Life after cancer
By Geetha Paniker, a survivor of triple negative cancer with double mastectomy. A believer of being positive against all odds who pens, all that the mind can reason with the heart. A teacher, turned home maker, she loves reading…
To tell or not to tell - the caregiver's dilemma
Breaking bad news to patients can be daunting and difficult, especially for caregivers. Maya Ramachandran narrates her experience when she and her husband were caught in such a catch-22 situation. My husband’s close relative was…
From Spinal Tumour Patient to Wonder Woman
Three spinal tumour surgeries could not stop Deepa Malik from being the first ever paraplegic Indian biker, swimmer, car rallyist, entrepreneur who doubles up as a very successful motivational speaker as well. Read this amazing woman's…
Care for the Caregiver
Maya Ramachandran shares her experience as a caregiver to her parents and the learnings she drew from this. Caregiving is soul-satisfying, meaningful, draining and frustrating all at the same time. I had been a caregiver for my father for almost 16…
CANCER: A friend who warns or a foe with thorns!
A poem by Rita Banik, Founder, RACE to rein-in-cancer The never uttered word CANCER The word that fills our heart with grief Turns our feet cold with fear The word that haunts and shatters … How long shall we go on fearing? How long…
Cancer was just a part of my story
“On paper, I am better: I no longer have cancer… But off paper, I feel far from being a healthy 26-year-old woman,” said Suleika Jaouad in a New York Times article Lost in transition after cancer, documenting her battered and traumatised…
Turning a home into a hospital
The idea of hospice care in my home overwhelmed me. I was very afraid of witnessing her physical deterioration and her death. At age 99, she was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Because of her advanced age, there was little to do except make the…
