Girish Gowda, Kickboxing Instructor, Wako india, BENGALURU Girish Gowda

I'm Girish Gowda. In Google, Fighter Girish. I'm an international kickboxing champion and 11-time gold medalist and a national champion. I go for climbing high-altitude treks, and I am also the Indian kickboxing coach. 

I'm a cancer survivor too. I completed my world championship in 2016 and came back from Russia. I won my silver medal for that and came back. One day I observed a pimple on my face. I realized it was more than a pimple. I went for a doctor consultation and was told that it was some kind of infection. Next, I was supposed to go for the Asian championship in 2017 in Kazakhstan. I was getting ready. Suddenly, I fainted and fell down in the gym where I was doing the workout. And I was shocked. It had never happened like this in my life before. What happened? 

I think it was March 21st. I still remember the date. In between the teeth, there was bleeding. My family doctor told us about some blood problem and that I should go and consult some private hospital.

I was in a shock. I am very good at diet and fitness. I go for all the workouts, everything. I am healthy and happy. No alcohol. Then suddenly, the hospital people disclosed that I had cancer, but they didn't say which type of cancer. I was shocked. Why me? I was scared about the cancer because everyone knows that in cancer no one can survive. I came to Cytecare Hospital, and the doctor told me we can take care of it.

I was in a very bad, critical situation, but then I got some hope. Then I realized that there is treatment for cancer, and it again ignited my hope of climbing Everest. 

A very important thing that was realized was our food. It should be very clean. You can prepare yourself. Avoid junk food and street food. Please stop this. This is the main and major cause for cancer.  Have healthy food and stay healthy. 

Mili Baruah, Mind-Body Wellness & Yoga consultant, BENGALURU Mili Baruah

I am Mili Baruah. I started my career as a newsreader and a lawyer, and I was with the airline for some time. But what brought me to mind and body wellness? I would like to give the credit to cancer. I was diagnosed with cancer in 2014, and there was actually no sign. There was actually no symptom for that. And it was very dormant. But yes, definitely, it was very dramatic at that moment when I was diagnosed with cancer. 

It was in the year 2014. There was actually no change in my body, or there was actually nothing much happening that I could think of cancer or something very serious. But one day when I touched my chest, I felt there was a pea-like kind of thing, which was, you know, growing, and it was actually negligible because there was no pain.

So when there is no pain, we don't think too much about it. But there was some problem. But I ignored it, and it continued for some more time. After 15 or 20 days, when I checked, it was actually growing big, and then it was a concern at that moment because there was no pain, there was no discomfort, and there were no other symptoms. 

I thought, It's okay; it is high time I should go and meet a doctor and show it. And get it checked. What actually is happening to my body? I met a physician, and he told me to go for surgery because it looked like a lump. And once the surgery was done, after the biopsy, he told me it was cancer. And it was really traumatic at that moment, no doubt about it. But, yes, I took it in a very positive way. 

I was asked to see a surgical oncologist or a medical oncologist for further evaluation. The word cancer is very traumatic. But I had two options. One is to just cry and think about it and not do anything. And the other option was to smile, meet the doctor, go ahead with the treatment, and come out of it. Within one month's time, my chemo started. I had 16 chemotherapy treatments, so overall the treatment was almost 7 to 8 months. I think November 1st was my last chemo, and during the treatment, I was definitely very positive.

And I feel the people around the person who is going through cancer should also be very positive and keep a very positive attitude. So finally it was the last day of my treatment, 1st November 2014, and I was really happy. And I asked my doctor, so what is next? The treatment is over. Just try to stay fit.

Cancer does not mean life after cancer is very, very difficult. If you make your mind set correct, if you have a good mindset, or if you feel happy, if you feel energetic, if you feel positive, then life is much more healthy and happy than what it was before. That is what I feel.

Renuka Prasad, Hon. Secretary, Indian Cancer Society

I am Renuka Prasad, today 76 years old. And it was way back in 1997 when I was just about 49 years old, out of the blue, when I discovered this small lump, and I really didn't know. What the hell is it? It was Holi, and in the army, we had a lovely celebration. After the festival, when I was trying to wash off that color, I felt a small, tiny lump; it was hardly pea-sized. After about 3 or 4 days, it was still there, and I had a nagging doubt about the cancer aspect. I was a little wary about the lump, and well, it did turn out to be cancerous. I knew that it was that dreaded C, and I didn't know what my survival rate would be. But yes, the doctor said that it's the first stage. It's a very tiny lump. And hopefully the surgery will show that it hasn't spread anywhere, and it would be a minimum course of treatment and not the very heavy dosage that I would get. 

So that was a relief. And that built enough positivity. Maybe I can cope with it. And then, of course, the thought was, "No, maybe it is," but I am going to cope with it, and I can vouch most effectively that yes, early detection is the key to fighting your cancer.  After the surgery, when I saw that gaping hole for the first time in my life, I saw myself in the mirror and could hardly recognize myself. Once the stitches and the bandages had been removed. And that was the only time for a moment that I went down; my barometer of positivity came crashing down, and I went into deep depression.  How am I going to move out in the social world, where I was so fond of socializing and so enjoying myself? However, it got solved within a couple of hours. One of the volunteers visited me and told me about the way to go about it.

It was just a very short-lived depression, and I was bouncing back again and really bounced back and thrived. I joined the Indian Cancer Society way back in 1998, and that's where my journey with this society started. Cancer, as we all know, is a lifestyle disease, so see that you do not neglect yourself.