Inspiring tales of conquering cancer emerge every day, and in telling and retelling them, there is a whole new level of hope in the battle against the disease.
When Thoughts Invade the Cancer Conqueror has a rather alarming sub-title – ‘Solitary Kidney and No Lymph Node, Prostate or Bladder.’ The authors of this slim volume are S. Nilakanta Siva, the said cancer conqueror, and his wife Rajalakshmi, who has been her husband’s most loyal soldier.
“We wrote this book for two reasons: first, we wanted to tell people that there is no need to be ashamed of having cancer. Second, do not smoke,” Mr. Siva told The Hindu.
After smoking for 15 years from his college days, Mr. Siva, now 72, had stopped 25 years ago, because he was afraid that passive smoking would affect the health of his wife and children.
Mr. Siva's first symptom manifested itself in March 2014 as blood in the urine, or as he puts it, “a drop of urine in a pool of blood.” Rushed to a hospital in Thanjavur, a scan revealed an unknown mass that was later diagnosed as cancer of the bladder.
After deciding to shift to Chennai and renting accommodation for the duration of the treatment, Mr. Siva and his family found themselves suiting up for battle. The first major procedure was a 9-hour long robotic surgery on June 17, 2014. By the end of all the follow-up operations, surgeons had removed his bladder, and prostate, lymph nodes in the area, and ligated a kidney. Mr. Siva has to wear a urostomy bag that collects the urine and has to be emptied out periodically.
“It took him one a half months to get back on his feet after the operations,” said Mrs. Rajalakshmi. “I was very afraid, but never showed it, because I didn’t want to scare him also. As a care-giver, you have to be brave and practical.” She gradually encouraged her husband to start taking care of himself, including emptying his urostomy bag. “It was important for him to be self-confident, so that he could manage on his own.”
Mr. Siva, an ex-Scientific Officer in the Publicity Division of the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), had settled down in Thanjavur after a career that included many years spent in the Nuclear Physics Division of Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and Kalpakkam as the Liaison Officer for DAE’s southern region projects, plus a brief post-retirement stint in medical transcription in Hyderabad.
He always had a talent for writing, which came to the fore through his Facebook page from 2014, as he chronicled his experiences in fighting cancer. “Most of the book comprises of the views of doctors, cancer survivors, their care-givers and many others who posted on the Facebook page,” said Mr. Siva.
