A spoonful of humour & a ladle full of exercise are key to dealing with cancer and the effects of treatment believes sous chef Prachi Kulkarni who survived Stage 2 Breast cancer. Read about the four pillars that helped her fight the battle and emerge scarred but smiling.
Talking to Prachi is like entering a room filled with sunlight. Her infectious laughter and one-liners keep you in splits. At the same time, you are strongly aware that her humour is rooted in the rough reality of her journey with cancer from 2021 to the present where she is in remission but must have regular tests and medication to make sure she stays healthy.
Prachi’s attitude to cancer is built on her strong desire to live life to the fullest. The four pillars which support her are her discipline of exercise and healthy eating; her love for her work; her creativity as an artist and the support of her husband Pawan, her mother and her friends.
The diagnosis:
Prachi was a veteran of 7 marathons by 2021. She had a fall before the next marathon and took leave from her hectic job as a sous chef at the Four Seasons Hotel, Dubai. A day before a scheduled medical check-up, she discovered a lump the size of a tennis ball in her breast. Her GP directed her to a surgeon who did not do a mammogram but did a biopsy of the lump that showed it as benign. Prachi elected to get a lumpectomy to remove it. The biopsy on the removed lump revealed it was malignant. She was diagnosed with Stage 2 breast cancer with lymph node involvement. This was in November 2021. She was 35 years old.
Within a month of that diagnosis, Prachi started chemotherapy of which she had 16 sessions. Further tests showed a hereditary genetic mutation on the BRCA2 gene that would increase the chances of a recurrence of breast cancer as well as ovarian cancer. Keeping this diagnosis in mind, Prachi underwent a double mastectomy and surgery to remove the 7 lymph nodes that had developed cancer. This was followed by 25 radiations. In January 2023, Prachi also had her ovaries and fallopian tubes surgically removed to reduce the risk of getting cancer in these organs.
Prachi had to take hormonal treatment to induce menopause and she will be on medicines for the next few years to stop the body from producing the hormones and stay in a menopause state.
The athlete
Prachi’s philosophy is that a healthy body enables you to fulfil your dreams and ambitions. She has consistently kept up an exercise regime even during the difficult days of chemotherapy and radiation because she believes that, “Your body is your vehicle. If you don’t have a healthy body, you can’t do what you want to do.”
She starts her day with this mantra “I am already a winner by making an attempt to show up at the gym or step out for a walk despite all the collateral damage caused by the treatment.” This affirmative statement has stood her in good stead. Her heart rate as a marathon runner was at 90 bpm and now in 2023 post-treatment and removal of her ovaries, it is still at 90, a fact that astounded her doctors.
Prachi used her marathon training to deal with the chemotherapy sessions. The couple equated the 16 chemo sessions to a 16-mile race. When the last chemo session was done, they celebrated with cake.
Prachi believes “You are stronger than your diseases.” If an illness prevents one activity, switch to another, but do not stop exercising. When she could not run, she took up swimming till she had the chemo port implanted. She also did kickboxing till she got a knee injury and then switched to boxing. Post-treatment, Prachi swims daily because the chemo port is not in use, though it will stay implanted for the next 5 years in case she needs it again.
How did she deal with tiredness and over-exertion especially as she was still working during her treatment? Prachi answers in her trademark fashion, “I never got a chance to over-exert myself. The moment I would feel tired I would just come home and sleep.”
The Artist
Prachi uses art to journal her cancer journey. She combines her talent with her irreverent attitude to educate people on cancer. Her simple illustrations explain the disease and the effects of the treatment clearly and help increase awareness of the disease.
Prachi has put her beautiful artwork on a series of products such as totes, scarves etc. that you can see on her Insta handle @prachikulkarni_art. Her website also helps to raise funds for the Al Jalila Foundation which provides aid to cancer patients who cannot afford it.
Laughter, the best medicine
Prachi treats everything with humour. After the double mastectomy, she turned down breast reconstruction surgery saying, “I am finally rid of wearing a sports bra!” She jokes about her hair loss, laughing that the absence of hair is aerodynamically great as it reduces resistance to the wind.
“No one likes to see you cry,” Prachi says in a matter-of-fact tone. Her cartoon-style drawings showing the effects of cancer make you smile and yet make the message simple to understand and open up conversations around cancer..
The fighter with attitude
Does she fear that the cancer can come back?
Prachi admits that such fears loom up at times but she tackles such thoughts by keeping busy with something else to distract her mind. To her, movement is the key to feeling good and staying positive. She accepts that life throws curve balls and she deals with them with a practical, positive attitude. She dislikes the culture of toxic positivity on social media that perpetually pushes you to look at the bright side of things without accepting the mood swings and the tears as part of the deal of fighting a disease.
One of the terrible low points was when she developed ulcers in her mouth for a fortnight. She could not eat at all. She blended and liquidized ingredients like chicken, mushrooms, spinach etc. She tried to drink this with a straw but failed. Finally, she took a small spoon and spooned the liquid into the part of her mouth that had the least number of ulcers and swallowed it.
What helped her eat was the ‘Magic Mouthwash.’ This mouthwash contains anaesthesia that numbs the mouth completely for 10 minutes. She would take that ten minutes to eat her blended meal. She says emphatically ‘I did not change my diet during chemotherapy. One way or the other, I had to nourish my body. There was no choice.
The cheerleaders:
“It takes a village to help a person recover,” says Prachi. Her husband Pawan and her mother have been her cheerleaders. Being a chef, it is ironic that Prachi could not taste food due to the treatment. When she complained to Pawan about this, he reminded her that Beethoven was deaf when he composed his best work. He also keeps her on track with her fitness goals.
Her company supported her as well. She says, “With an illness like cancer, you need to be off work for certain periods of time. You fear that you may not have a job left by the time you recover. My company let me work easier hours, paid my full salary and assured me that my job was safe. It helped me to focus on my treatment.”
Future Plans
“We are given one life and I want to use it to the maximum,” says Prachi. Busy trying out new things as a chef, she plans to take up pottery next and is interested in beekeeping. She was about to sign up for a beekeeping course when cancer struck. While this is on hold for now, knowing Prachi, one can never say never to anything!
As told to Smita Vyas Kumar
