Chat with Anil Singh
By Ritu Sharma
Introduction
I look around for him in the parking lot of the KGA. I don’t
know how he looks like; I call him on the mobile and soon see him coming across
towards me. I see a person with twinkle in his eyes and a purposeful gait. We
walk into the club which is some distance away, with several stairs to climb,
but he shows no signs of slowing down. I sit across from him at the table, look
into his pleasant face which shows wealth of experience and knowledge, and
eagerly look forward to his story……….
Anil Singh, 74 years old – Bone Cancer Survivor
Initial Signals
At the age of 57, Anil ignored the subtle signs his body was
giving. He suffered from fatigue, persistent low grade temperature, prolonged
cough and feeling of cold. The symptoms pointed towards thyroid but that test
came clean. He continued with his hectic lifestyle with a job which required
him to travel almost 125 days a year.
It was almost after 10 years, in 2005, when he was visiting
Hyderabad that a friend insisted he go see a doctor as he was not looking well.
Subsequently several other friends and acquaintances, who had not met him for a
while, said the same. Though he did intend going to a doctor but due to his hectic
travel plans it just kept getting postponed.
A few months later, he went driving to Goa. When he was returning, rushing to make it on
time for work, the car almost hit a rock. He slammed the car brakes and managed to stop
the car safely. He and his wife were
completely shaken realizing how close they had been to having a serious
accident. All seemed fine and after
stretching his body to shake off niggles and aches he continued his journey. After
covering the last stretch of 300 km, his back started to hurt. An X-ray revealed three fractures and five
other healed fractures in the spine. His
spine had basically collapsed. Further tests revealed multiple myeloma (bone
marrow cancer). Myeloma affects just one
part of the bone structure whereas multiple myeloma affects all the bones in
the body.
Treatment
Anil feels that it is more difficult to handle the emotional
side of denial, bargain, depression and acceptance than the disease itself. He did not allow himself to go through all the
emotional turmoil and just accepted that he had cancer. His doctors were highly skilled and that
assured him of being in good hands. To
bring his myeloma to acceptable level, he was administered steroids. In 2007, from March to December, he was
confined to bed. These were trying
times; a person who led such a hectic lifestyle was suddenly confined to bed.
He had lost his independence and had to rely on others for daily routine tasks.
But he had great support from his family, specially his wife,
daughter, sisters and brother-in-laws. His
peers at work were unfortunately not helpful. Instead, they took advantage of his
absence. However, people who worked
under him extended their hand in support. After he was allowed to walk, he had to learn
the art of walking again as his muscles had become too weak after such a long
duration in bed. He had to take support
of a walker and was advised to use it at all times. He was warned that any fall could cause
fractures. But after a while, with the
desire to be independent, he threw away the walker and started to walk
unsupported taking few steps at a time.
In 2008 March, steroids were tapered off and he underwent
Chemotherapy. As he was not allowed to
go outdoors, he walked the corridors of the hospital. In the two months of treatment, he had
mentally measured how many tiles made a km and made sure he walked that much. After this treatment, he underwent stem cell
change. Those caused so much weakness
that he could not eat, drink or do any work. Even a task like brushing teeth became
impossible. This state continued till
the injected stem cells started multiplying and slowly he got his strength
back.
Recovery
Anil feels that for his self image and self worth, it was
important to do all those things that made up his identity. And to him it was “being mobile” that was most
important. So, he worked on his
mobility, he started going to the gym, and then started driving in spite of
resistance from his family. In 2009, he
went to Mansarovar with his daughter, a place he wanted to visit as a young boy
but could not. In 2010, he travelled to the US with his wife.
Anil’s Thoughts
Anil feels that while going through the struggle of fighting
cancer, emotional support from friends and family is the most important thing for
survival. One also has to struggle with
their over protectiveness and concerns. He feels that it is important to listen to family
and friends, however, take appropriate action to regain your identity. It is like opening the last page of a book to
find out what you want in life’s story and then move backwards. He also feels strongly that the power of brain
can alter reactions to medicines and you can train yourself, your immune system
to react positively. Lastly, he says,
you should have the will to live, a will to fight.
Anil insists on walking me to my car and we say our good bye.
Anil casually says “I don’t know if you
will see me again” and my heart skips a beat. And I think, I do want to see him
again and I do hope to meet him again soon.
Ritu Sharma can be reached at Ritusharma@Newmorning.in
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