Kalpana Sethia believes that a positive attitude can help you get through anything
Like most people the word ‘cancer’ made me nervous too. I have to admit, I didn’t know much about breast cancer or cancer, and the only person I’ve ever known to have cancer, was a distant relative who died some 30 years ago. But now this was all about to change.
In February 2013, I felt a hard ball-shaped lump in my breast. I wore a lot of underwired bras and quickly thought it had something to do with that. I scheduled an appointment with my gynaecologist and went to see her thereafter. Once she examined me, she alerted me and scheduled an appointment for me with an oncologist. The oncologist knew what he saw and conducted a SNAC and a patch test. As I went through the various processes, I slowly began to prepare myself for the reality. My husband was with me all throughout and shared the same thought process as me.
When the results finally came, I wasn’t shattered. I had stage one breast cancer and I was ready to beat it. I slowly began to tell my family about it, and the irony was that I was the one consoling them. Within the next week, I had my surgery and luckily didn’t have to lose my breast.
I had heard about the power of positivism and during this phase of my life I experienced it firsthand. I never complained to God about my suffering, I only prayed that he give me the willpower to handle it; and he did. I was prepared for a lot more but it didn’t turn out to be that bad. In fact, I would want to call this a good experience as it showed me who I could trust and who really cared about me.
I continued to be positive even during my chemotherapy sessions; having a positive attitude changes life for the better. My hair began to fall but it didn’t upset me. I thought of it as an opportunity to experience baldness. My husband and son both shaved their heads for me and we took pictures together too. I was never embarrassed about my bald head. If you have a smile on your face no one would even notice the missing hair. Dress up well, put on pretty jewellery; go out and enjoy life.
Whatever happens to you in life will depend on the kind of attitude you have. At the end of the day you can’t control it, you can either curse it or embrace it. Staying positive helped me and can help you too.
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