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| Sunday, May 30, 2004 |
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| Sunday, May 30, 2004 |
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Smiles and Tears: A Salute to
Cancer Last
year, Anup Kumar published his best-selling Joy of Cancer which recorded his sudden diagnosis of and successful fight with an advanced cancer condition. Readers of that moving account will be glad to know that Anup is alive and well and has been caught by another kind of bug: the writing bug. In the yearlong treatment that he underwent while writing about himself, Anup came into contact with many other cancer patients with whom he could now empathise. “You have to be positive. You must have a single-minded resolve. Think of the millions of people around the world who are cancer patients, who survived and made significant contributions to society. Integrate the cancer experience into your life. Never visualise cancer as your enemy.” In his new book, fifty pages longer than his last, Anup returns to the cancer wards of his past and tells the stories of others who have fought the battle. Twenty-one fellow patients, most of them survivors, tell their story in this collection of experiences. The common perception is that even the diagnosis of cancer is a death sentence. That is just not true. These are not professional writers, but often truth has a compelling narrative power and, reading these accounts, I was struck by my own reactions of fear and pity, of awe and sympathy for those whose lives, and in some cases, deaths were revealed in these pages. A common thread of self-transformation runs through the stories. Anup, in his first book, recorded at length is own coming to terms with cancer as well as the ways in which this disease positively affected his life. The patients seem to corroborate this. “I have so much still to offer to the world. I am constantly rediscovering and reinventing myself. I strongly believe in the power of Naicharen Thashorun’s Buddhist chanting, something that I participate in on a regular basis. I have taken up the demanding but
satisfying task of translating the Japji, the Sikh Morning Prayer. I have become more sensitive to all the goodness. I cannot reinvent my past. I can only be in control of my present.” Aneeta Kalra, who wrote these lines, is a survivor. She ends with: “I love my life as much with cancer as I did without it. Perhaps more.” Anup’s book, however, is not simply a collection of cancer stories. It is an important addition to the little, but growing documentation of the experience of the disease. Cancer itself is a ubiquitous term that covers a wide variety of afflictions. We have a broad spectrum of cases, which presents a rare view of something that we often want to think as little as possible about. In extended appendices, Anup tells the reader about a variety of questions concerning the disease, the extent to which it is hereditary (Actually only 5 to 10 per cent of the breast, ovary and prostate cancer are thought to be due to strong hereditary factors), how its risk might be reduced (50 per cent of cancer cases can be prevented if we alter our lifestyle), short surveys of some of the more common forms of the disease, early warning symptoms and the treatment. People usually suppress unpleasant thoughts. Reading a book about those who have suffered is not going to be pleasant. This book is not only informative and sensitive to the issues surrounding the disease, but also thought provoking and well organised. Not all of us need to wait to be diagnosed with cancer to start living. |
