The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : A voyage of despair, hope and courage

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Monday, Feb 16, 2009
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A voyage of despair, hope and courage

Special Correspondent

— PHOTO: S. THANTHONI

Of grit: Students of Bharathanjali Dance School perform at the Cancer Survivors’ day programme organised by Vasantha Memorial Cancer Centre in Chennai on Sunday.

CHENNAI: For a few hours on Sunday, they forgot their battle against cancer, overcame fear and put the tortuous days behind them.

Nearly 150 survivors, who came together under the banner of Vasantha Memorial Cancer Centre, enjoyed a generous dose of cultural programmes that marked the Cancer Survivors Day organised by the centre here.

Students of Bharathanjali presented dances set to popular film songs such as ‘Anjali, Anjali’ and ‘Mukunda, Mukunda’ while the young survivors showcased their musical talent. The cultural programme was interspersed with reminiscences by cancer survivors. Each survivor’s story was about the voyage of despair, fear, hope and courage.

Susheela David moved her family from Coimbatore to Chennai when she learnt that her five-year-old daughter, Jessica, had leukaemia. The family belongs to the Jehovah’s Witness sect that does not accept blood transfusion. Jessica lost a school year. Now in class V, she is cured of the disease. “I came to Chennai fearing I might lose her. Now she is cured and needs only a monthly check-up,” Ms. David, a working mother of two, said.

D. Saroja (71), the oldest survivor in the gathering, is an ardent fan of former Chief Minister C.N. Annadurai. A schoolteacher, she was inspired to learn more about the disease when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in the seventies. Today, she is completely cured after three chemotherapies and a surgery. A special educator, P.B. Krishnakumari (52), wanted to study in the United States. “I took the GRE and the TOEFL and got an admission to a course at the University of Minnesota. There I discovered a lump in my throat. The doctors could not diagnose the problem. I took a semester off and came to Chennai for treatment for thyroid cancer. Back then, it took me three hours to drink a glass of water. Now I am better after treatment,” she said. She finished the course online from home.

Ms. Krishnakumari summed up the survivors’ mood when she said: “I took it as a lesson and have learnt to enjoy every moment of life.”

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