HYDERABAD: Cancer is a menace that paralyses more than half of the populace not only physically but also mentally. However, ‘what cancer cannot do – it cannot cripple love, it cannot shatter hope, it cannot corrode faith, it cannot silence courage, it cannot invade the soul, it cannot steal eternal life, it cannot conquer the spirit.’ This is what Dr. Vijay Anand Reddy’s book ‘I am a Survivor’ brings out.
The author is a cancer specialist and has practised immensely across the globe. He was always focused on improving the health conditions in India. Over the years, he has realised that although with the advancements in medical treatments a person can be cured physically but his mental wounds cannot be healed. Often it disables the individual frommoving ahead in life. The patients are always depressed and distraught with life.
He says, “I realised that no amount of counselling, consoling and attempts to boost their spirit can help. It was during such attempts to counsel patients that I realised the need to pen the experiences of some of the warriors of cancer, who could successfully decimate the disease and are a true inspiration to every cancer patient.”
Therefore, he set out on a mission. A mission to give every cancer patient hope. ‘I Am a Survivor’ shares powerful voices and stories of hope and inspiration of 108 cancer survivors. The book gives the readers a chance to get an insight into the courageous and heartfelt journey of these patients, the initial helplessness and how they recover from the shock they experience on hearing the word ‘cancer’, pick up the shattered pieces of their lives and gradually transform into incredibly strong cancer survivors. Through this book, he narrates his entire journey as an oncologist and how the patients combat cancer and emerged as a survivor. One of the survivor mentions her journey saying, “Miracle is a shift in perception from fear to love. Life itself is a teacher and you are in constant state of learning.”