From a very young age, Meher Roy was taught to listen to his body. A habit instilled by his father, even as a young adult, he would try to regularly monitor his heart, kidneys, blood, and other health aspects.  “My father instilled this habit in me from a young age after my mother went through an episode of illness, which only seemed to reaffirm his belief in the practice,” he says.  These regular checkups allowed him to collect years of data about his body, giving him a better understanding of what is ‘normal’ for him.  In 2021, during one of the regular checkups, he noticed th ..read more

When one night, the pain became unbearable, Sandeep Kumar informed his parents about the swelling in his right hand. Distressed, his mother applied a paste of onion to his hand to relieve the pain. After eight months of home remedies and “treatment” from local quacks, Sandeep was diagnosed with bone cancer at 12. “I could not move my hand, a lump had formed in my right humerus bone, and it kept increasing. For six to eight months, we kept running from one district hospital to another, but all in vain. There was no diagnosis,” recalls Sandeep in a conversation with The Better India. Growing up ..read more

C ancer treatment is expensive, and living in a city while getting that treatment is, more often than not, exorbitant. A philanthropic organisation in Navi Mumbai is doing everything it can to help cancer patients and their families by providing free accommodation to those undergoing treatment in the city. Mangalam Foundation has leased out 17 apartments near the Tata Memorial Hospital & Research Centre in order to provide respite and shelter for patients. It also provides meals for just ₹10. The team behind the foundation realised that many who come to the ho ..read more

Meet Durgaiah, a farmer and a cancer survivor who not only won the battle against throat cancer, but is now using his second chance at life to train, counsel, and inspire. Dr. Pragati Hebbar explores further. Settled in a quaint village called Hunsemaradoddi off Kanakpura in Karnataka resides Durgaiah, a small-scale farmer who used to grow ragi, a millet. Very early in life, he got hooked to tobacco use in the form of beedi. Exposed to the habit in his school days, he recalls how common it was for young boys to experiment with tobacco products. The first puff soon turned to a couple of beedis ..read more

Very few cancer survivors speak about their challenges. This story is of a mum battling the health condition, and looking forward to a positive life, as she wants to share it, talk about it, and even raise funds for her recovery. We often hear stories of cancer fighters, and their hardships and challenges—even a lot of positive stories too, after they have recovered. A few of us see it first-hand when it happens within families or with friends, and it isn’t easy. Monika Bakshi Singh is a highly optimistic mum who has begun a platform for individuals to share their cancer stories. Her batt ..read more

Despite affecting large numbers of Indians, cancer is still often misunderstood in many parts of the country. Sarika Rana, a cancer survivor herself, is helping dispel the myths and stigma around cancer through her support group, Anandi Sheroes. Sarika Rana was born and brought up in a small town of Uttarakhand. She spent her childhood among the natural beauty of mountains, floating clouds, and the songs of rivers moving by. Like many other girls, she grew up to be her ‘daddy’s li’l girl’ – pampered and cheerful. Her parents’ demise took an emotional toll on Sarika. Being a great follower ..read more

Manoj Goyal has an incredible story to share about the love – in particular the one about himself and his wife. The story begins with a WhatsApp group and quietly comes to the present day as his wife remains a pillar of strength as the young man bravely battles cancer. In a Humans of Bombay post, Manoj recounts how he had been too shy to even talk to his wife when he first met her at a common friend’s party. However sure that he wanted to get to know her, he convinced his friend to start a WhatsApp group just so he could talk to her. From thereon, the two clicked and later realised that t ..read more

Meet Nalini Satyanarayan, a 70-year-old cancer survivor who is now championing the cause of cancer prevention. Diagnosed with vocal chord cancer in early 2010, Nalini Satyanarayan underwent a surgery successfully in April 2010 and took radiation therapy subsequently. But due to the location of the cancer, they had to remove her voice box, and she was fitted with a provox prosthesis during surgery. The prosthesis is a valve between the food pipe and the wind pipe. It helps one to speak by modulation of air. The international varieties of the prosthesis cost anywhere between ₹20,000 – 30,000.&nb ..read more

Breast cancer is currently the most common cancer detected among Indian women. It is also the leading cause of cancer deaths in women all over the world — accounting for more than 1.6% of cancer deaths. The survival rates fall even lower in developing countries with low resources to fight the cancer menace. And survivors are often not aware of the various products and resources available to ease their lives after cancer. One such product for cancer survivors who have undergone mastectomy is a prosthetic bra. Source: MesserWoland – own work, Wikimedia  Although the doctors highly recommen ..read more

Cancer continues to be one of the biggest health risks in India. Fortunately, there’s a whole new range of advances and tools that are boosting the fight against this deadly disease. Dr. Preeti Choudhary takes a closer look. There is no doubt that cancer today is a major threat to society. Projections by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) peg the expected total number of new cancer cases in India to be around 14.5 lakh in 2016, and according to them, the figure is likely to reach nearly 17.3 lakh new cases in 2020. Over 7.36 lakh people are believed to have succumbed to the dis ..read more