Being a cancer patient, there is a feeling of gloom and doom. There is also the sense of extreme hopelessness, helplessness and powerlessness, but forging ahead with hope can do wonders in one’s life. Healed, written by Manisha Koirala with Neelam Kumar, details her personal journey through her battle with ovarian cancer. The actress believes that overcoming cancer can be a lesson in self-discovery and can teach one to love life again. Here are some of Manisha’s mechanisms to cope with the Big C…
Strike up friendships
To have a friendly relationship with the doctors, nurses and the entire crew is very important. It opens the door to many deep conversations, which keeps one sane and away from the misery. Treating your nurses or doctors as your friends who you can joke with or laugh with will allow you to discover each other’s human side and hence the bonds become personal and warm. “From a patient-nurse relationship, we graduated into one of woman to woman. I got into a first-name basis with each of them. We joked, laughed, prayed and kept track of what was going on in each other’s lives on a day-to-day basis. We shared our joys, sorrows, concerns, fears and hopes and spoke about the situations we currently found ourselves in,” she points out.
Be grateful
No matter what, if you learn to be thankful in life for everything, you will never be sad in life again. Manisha believes that gratitude plays a major role in improving any situation in life you are in and it is the magic potion one should never forget. Learn the art of picking up each moment carefully, diving inside it, admiring its possibilities and experiencing it fully before stringing it back with the other pearls on the necklace of time. “A change had begun taking shape within me during my stay at the hospital when I started becoming more appreciative of each moment. I realised I had become a moment-to-moment person, filled with a deep appreciation for every little bit that life generously handed to me,” she explains. It matters to appreciate the tiniest of miracles that come our way.
It takes courage
To be strong, despite all the pain and fear, is the key to success. “I tried to handle the chemo sessions maturely, without unnecessary drama. During the chemo sessions, I started psyching myself into thinking I was getting vitamin shots,” shares Manisha. Praying or meditating also works wonderfully. You can send prayers to the one above and chant for as long as you can. Also recommended is positive visualisations. Look straight into your eyes in the mirror and keep telling yourself – ‘I am strong… I am strong’. This is how you would be able to feed your subconscious with healing affirmations. Reciting this mantra and reaffirming, ‘I am healed… I am healed’ will help you witness spring coming into your life as well.
(Healed: How Cancer Gave Me A New Life has been published by Penguin Random House)
