This Woman Beat Cancer, Not Once But Twice, & Her Awe-Inspiring Story Will Give You Goosebumps

There have been so many times when a single sentence update has made us feel a permanent sense of loss. There are many Facebook timelines filled with wishes for people who are way too far away to read them. Cancer has left people-shaped holes in the lives of many, it’s a monster that’s spared no one- kids, parents, grandparents, nobody.

But this post from Humans of Bombay talks about a woman who chose to fight back. She fought cancer twice, one worse than the next, and she’s still here to tell the story. If there’s one thing we can take back from her, it’s the power of positive thinking. This woman was brave enough to joke about the outcomes of chemo radiations, weight loss and everything else that cancer brings. And her bravery arrived when she stopped fearing. This is her story.

She says,

In 2005, I was detected with breast cancer and I had to undergo 6 chemo sessions and 30 radiation cycles until I was finally cured.

She thought she had beaten cancer. But life had other curveballs prepared for her.

I got an MRI done and realised that I had stage 4 brain cancer. I won’t lie — At 62, when the doctor told us that I had 8 days to live, I was terrified. I remember that night, lying in Bhatia hospital, processing the news. I didn’t know if I would sleep.

With eight days left, she decided to take everything in her stride, and laugh at the disease, and all that it brings. She called her weak forearm muscles, giggled at her bald patch, and one can say goaded the tumour into submission.

I stopped making cancer bigger than me. As I went through 20 sittings of brain radiation and one massive surgery after the other — I kept myself busy and amused. Even when the doctors painted a bleak picture which consisted of possibilities of haemorrhage or paralysis I focused all my energy on the beauty of life. I felt liberated.