New Delhi, April 11
Yuvraj Singh is back. Though not exactly bouncing, he is confident of getting back on the cricket field sooner than later. But his immediate priority would be to get his mind and body fit, and in sync. He said getting back to playing cricket will take some time, and a lot of efforts.

“Cancer has gone out of my body, not the scars”, stated Yuvraj, during an interaction with the media today in Gurgaon (Baliawas), where the Yuvraj Singh Centre of Excellence is located. “The illness has hit me hard, but I have come out of it”, he continued.

“At the moment, I am happy and relieved to get my life back. I am thankful to the God. I am always positive”.

Yuvraj Singh returned from the US on Monday, after successfully completing a three-month cycle of chemotherapy for a rare form of cancer, at Indianapolis. (Yuvraj and his doctor, Nitesh Rohatgi, confirmed that the player was not suffering from lung cancer, but a rare form of tumour, which was detected early enough to cure).

“The kind of cancer I had, it was tough to diagnose,” Yuvraj said candidly.

But he has come out of the ordeal, a winner, with his hopes and spirits in place.

Dr Rohatgi said Yuvraj’s positive attitude, his exercise, healthy and organic food and his strong mental disposition all contributed to his speedy recovery.

Sporting a bald pate (the after effect of chemotherapy) and wearing dark sun glasses, Yuvi looked dashing as ever. He said his mother was his “biggest support” in the US. She did not cry even once, when he was having a tough time undergoing the treatment.

“All my good friends, and my mother were with me. I don’t think, without her, I would have made this journey”. And he never abandoned hope. “Mentally, I just have to be positive.

“I used to vomit, break down and cry, but she never shed tears”, Yuvraj revealed.

Yuvraj said he saw some cosmic connection to his illness with that of cycling legend Lans Armstrong. He started reading Armstrong’s book six years ago, but then stopped. And then started reading the book again when he was diagnosed for cancer. “I related a lot with him. He had similar cancer, though his cancer was detected at a late stage. I was lucky I was detected in the first stage”.

Yuvraj Singh said he wasted about six months in procrastination. “Six months I wasted finding out whether I had cancer or not”, as he could not believe that he would be afflicted with the disease. But he had sensed something was amiss during the World Cup. “I had this terrible cough, nausea, and some times I used to vomit blood. But I did not tell anybody I had a problem. I was being happy, cheerful.”

Though he kept a cheerful disposition outside thinking “You will be Ok, you will be fine. Inside I thought there is a serious issue. And I will have to somehow come out of it”.

But when the numbing truth was told to him, he was not crestfallen. He did not curse the God, asking him “Why me?”.

“I did not ask God Why Me? when we won the World Cup”.

The doctor said the possibility of a relapse would be known in a year, and in the next four years. “And if it does not occur in five years, then we can be sure that he’s 100 per cent cured”.

Yuvraj Singh said once the recovery process gets momentum he would work hard to come on the cricket field

“I am going to work hard and play for the country. I want to wear the India logo. I will come back, definitely. But I need time. My body needs time. At the moment, my priority is my health. I have come through a tough time. May be I need an extra month to get back on the field”, he signed off.

Yuvraj said the message he wanted to give out to those who are in the same situation as he is, is that “cancer is curable if detected in time”. And his pleasant disposition is also to give out a strong message that you can come out of any ordeal, if you keep a positive mindset.