Skip to main content
Submitted by Pranay Rangra on 14 September 2018
Picture has Pranay a Lymphoma survivor with his sister on the left. Picture is a little blurry

Pranay Rangra, 34 from Mumbai was diagnosed with Stage 2 Non Hodgkin’s Lymphoma. He shares his journey of dealing with cancer, the side effects of treatment and getting back into the workforce with the support of his family and colleagues

Early Symptoms

I have always been on the healthy side, but around late December of 2016, I started losing weight at a rapid pace. Initially I didn’t pay much attention to it and was actually glad to become a bit slimmer. Along with this weight loss, I started experiencing frequent headaches and by April was looking weak with puffy eyes. By then, I was sure something was wrong and went for a complete body check-up. My lung scan revealed an abnormality and to study it further, my doctor advised me for a CT. The CT showed a tumour and that as per my doctor was either TB or cancer. I was then asked to do a biopsy which confirmed that the tumour was malignant. I was staring at a 12 cm big tumour in the lymph node between my heart and lungs, and was told this I had B-Cell Lymphoma - Stage 2. This is a type of lymph node cancer called Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

To top that, I also had a blood clot which resulted in my face getting swollen. I started looking like a pumpkin on a stick. The good news in this otherwise gloomy episode was that the subsequent PET scan revealed that the cancer was still localised and hadn’t spread to other body parts.

Experience of managing lymphoma

I was referred to an oncologist by my doctor, and she assured me that the disease was very curable and I had to start with chemotherapy at the earliest. Getting operated was not an option as the tumour was in a very sensitive organ and operating could be detrimental. Before I could realise what hit me, the first of my 6 chemo cycles had already started. Each chemo cycle was a week long with 4 IV drips, and I couldn’t even move from the bed for that time. This was daunting, as just being stuck in one place was not something imaginable. I used to get a recovery time of 2 weeks between each chemo cycle which was anything but recovery. Right from body pain to weakness to mood swings everything hit me all at once. I slowly started getting used to this new way of life as this was something I had to undergo to become better. That’s what, I always kept telling myself. Finally, all the 6 chemo cycles after a period of 5 months were over.

While the tumour had reduced, but as was God’s will radiation was also in store for me. Radiation had to be done to crush the remaining tumour which was again a 1.5-month process across 25 sittings. Radiation was extremely smooth with no side effects.

Currently I have been in remission for around 9 months, and am hoping to be totally cancer free.

Side effects

From my second chemo cycle onwards, I started losing all my head and facial hair; slowly even the eyebrows and eyelashes vanished. I would wear a hat and sunglasses most of the time to only feel nice without actually looking nice. I started feeling like Kevin Bacon from Hollow-Man, but after a point got used to this. Now it’s all back. In fact my beard is even more dense than before.

What was more terrible was the body pain and weakness, but with my family’s support through this period made it manageable.

The 2-week gap between each chemo cycle was the hardest, even more so than the treatment itself.

Luckily I had no side-effects from Radiation.

What kind of specialists do you consult and how often

After recovery my first scan in March 2018 was PET scan. Now its a CT scan every 3 months. I also consult my oncologist at the same interval. I am told that after 2 years of recovery, the interval will increase to 6 months and subsequently once a year.

Read: Diet Questions for Lymphoma

Emotional Support

Cancer not only drains you physically but emotionally too. My father and mother became my biggest pillars to draw strength and support from. My sister stood like a rock, and made sure I got all the possible comforts emotionally and physically. Apart from them, there was a very special person who made me overcome this trauma in the happiest way possible. A big thank you to all of you along with all my other friends who helped me become a conqueror.

Now that I am actually coming to terms with what happened to me last year, it’s definitely scary but this episode taught me how to value life and enjoy every moment like it’s your last. The only thing uncertain about life is life itself.

Re-integration back to work:

I took an extended leave for 8 months for the period of the treatment. My employers were kind enough to not tell me to quit.

When I went back to work after my leave, it took time to get to the level where I was earlier. Initially I took it really slow, went to work only for a couple of hours. Once my confidence started coming back and I was in the zone to deal with clients, I took the plunge full fledged. Now it is pretty smooth. No weakness, fatigue. Honestly I don't think about all this; hence it seems as good as it was pre-cancer.

Recovering Self-Confidence 

The biggest challenge I have faced is actually not a physical one of recovering from the disease, but a slightly internal one. During the treatment I had pretty much lost all my self-confidence and always thought that facing the outside world would be beyond me. But with time, I have managed to face up to everything from a career and life perspective. I am back in my job, doing reasonably okay along with working for a cancer NGO. At the end it all falls into place, and if it doesn’t it is sure as hell not the end, not yet.

To end the article, a message I would like to share is ‘If you have the will to succeed, failing is never an option.’

Community
Condition