Cancer please don’t come back! Cancer is that mammoth monster that swallows one from within often without even giving a hint. The journey of fighting cancer is so overwhelming, tiring, terrifying and mysterious that even if one comes out of its clench victorious, the fear of the monster still lingers in the deepest cores of their heart. Sunil, a 22-year-old college graduate, who was just about to kick start his life, was jolted when a simple rash on his skin turned out to be melanoma in its second stage. The ground cracked beneath his foot and hell broke down upon his head, because even after so many success stories and recovery tales, somewhere deep in our brain cells the word cancer perceived as the warrant of death. His first reaction was the same as most of the cancer patients, and that’s of denial. In his little understanding of this big threat, he failed to fathom the why’s and how’s of this sudden encounter.
He never smoked, nor he indulged in drinking, in fact, he was not even a white to get Melanoma, but defying all the standard rules, there he was with a red report in his hand and tears in his eyes. After several rounds of checkup, he finally came in terms with his disease, and with the impeccable care and treatment from the top-notch Indian oncologists, he even came out clean as the great survivor who beat cancer. But the battle was not over yet. What came following cancer was even more terrifying than the disease itself. Even at the slightest of a sneeze, he would rush to his oncologist, asking for all sorts of examinations so that they don’t miss an early diagnosis. This time Sunil was much more aware of the plot and the ploys of the disease and that petrified him even more. He lost his sleep, his peace was gone, he feared the rain and the sunshine, the day and the night and even after the disease was gone the aftermath of fear made his mind paralyzed with the fear of a recurrence.
Looking at his worried anxious behavior, his oncologist suggested him to practice yoga, mindfulness and check-up with an Ayurvedic expert and that brought Sunil straight to my clinic. Every word he spelt gave a glimpse of the trauma he underwent, the fear he refused to overcome and the future that seemed doomed through his eyes. He survived cancer but he was terribly failing to survive the fear. I prescribed him liquid for his stress and anxiety and taught him meditation, yoga and positive affirmations to redirect his energies on the path of healing. 3 years have passed since we first met and he finally put cancer and the fear of recurrence both at rest!