Yoga for Cancer

Fighting cancer is not easy. And equally bad is taking the treatment. The worse part being - along with treatment come lot of side effects, that are needed to be care of at the same time. Though doctors try their best to deal with these symptoms and side effects. But coping with the side effects with more medicines starts taking toll on the patient much earlier  then expected. 

Most of the cancer patients, I have spoken to don't want to take medicine. Rather they want some natural method by which they can overcome side effects such as anxiety, stress, sleeplessness, and depression.

Yoga- I believe is the perfect answer. Yoga works on the whole body involving   breathing ( pranayama),  stretching excercise and meditation. It is a way of staying healthy and protecting yourself from  any sort of illness. 

Yoga, creates a perfect harmony between the mind, body and soul at the same time relaxing the mind and body. Yoga, the various postures(asanas) stimulate the nervous system, makes joints more flexible while the mind and body can calm andbe at peace. The excercises helps in improving breathing and blood circulation.

India, the birth place of yoga- people have been practising the art for over 5000yrs. Recently our hon.  prime minister Modi ji- annouced the first ever International yoga day( 21st June2015).   So why not? Yoga will not cure cancer, but can definetely make dealing with the symptoms easier on a daily basis with no side effects.

Yoga can be practised at home as per ones convinience and ability( First few lesson should always be taken under the guidence of an expert).

Baba Ramdev, world reknown yoga expert and spiritual leader talks about cancer in
Yoga For Cancer 

I Love you, Papa!

Cancer- Dealing with pain

As CANCER advances, pain only increases. Treatment is almost over. Nothing much can be done now medically, only efforts to reduce the pain can be done ( Palliative Care).  Around 2/3 of the patients suffering from cancer experience acute pain. The pain is almost unbearable for the patient and is equally painful for you to see your loved one in pain. 

For treating pain, Doctors use all sorts of medicines - from simple drugs like Paracetamol (Analgesics) to Morphine (Opioids). Honestly nothing helps, but if the medicines are given timely  and in proper dosage, then they are of some help. The patient do experience some relief, if the pain has been analyzed properly and timely.

A study conducted by doctors in UK, says that Tolerance to pain can be Increased in the following ways

• Rest 
• Diversion
• Physiotherapy 
• Relaxation therapy
• Empathy 
• Support from family
• Listening to Music
• Expressing emotionally

Tolerance to pain is reduced by

• Anxiety
• Sadness
• Introvert Attitude
• Insomnia
• Socially Cut-off
• Fear
• Fatigue
• Anger
• Mental Separation
• Depression

Pain can be described as physical expression of social, spiritual and psychological isolation. To feel pain, one need not suffer. Dealing with pain, a lot of effort is required that too in a very organized and a sensitive way.

• Proper Medication
• Counseling
• Other Therapies
• Spiritual Support

Apart from all  of the mentioned above, support from family plays a pivotal role in making life easy for your loved ones. Talk to them, make them express, listen to them-After all you love them and this is the least you can do for them.

I love you Papa!

My Grief, My Partner

Today, its been 11months since papa left us!

Dealing with loss can be difficult,  It becomes more difficult when you are with your loved one all through. I have always been very close to my father. But the bond we felt, while papa was undergoing treatment was different. There was a different kind of unity. We became each other’s support system. We just knew what to say to make  each other feel good. 

For months, my routine was same-  6:15a.m Wake up, call papa,and ask if he had any new problem(s) and pain(s). And then the fight to deal with that pain would start. Call doctors, visit doctor, arrange medicine. managing papa’s dosage…for hours, i used to be on phone. The day would end and then  would start again….

For me loosing my father was like, a plant uprooted from the ground. It is no rocket science to understand what happens when you loose your ground, how it feels. The day came, papa travelled to a place where he would be free of pain and sufferings…I should have been happy but I am not.

26, October 2013, the day is etched in my memory as the black day of my life. This date,  changed my views for life forever. I have stopped taking life for granted. I value life and people around me more. But I am yet to overcome my grief, my loss. My days still are a combination of pain, shock, anger, bargain, fear, depression...

Pain: Moments after papa left, I was numb. I could not feel. I was just expecting, papa to get up and talk to me. But he didn't ....he was gone!

Shock : Initial 3 days after papa went, I couldn’t cry. My heart  refused to accept that it has happened to me. I was shocked…from the day when papa was detected with cancer…to hours before he left, I maintained this feeling that a miracle will happen and papa will be fine. 

Anger: I am still angry at myself. Why din’t I pay attention to papa’s  declining weight. Why didn’t I push him hard to visit a good hospital. I was his most loved child. I betrayed my father. And he had to pay the price by his life.

Bargain: For months, I would pray to god, that I will do anything If he returns my father. My days are still spent in believing that one day he will return to me…

Fear: I suffer panic attacks. I constantly live under fear, as regarding my own life,  health  of people I love and my responsibilities . 

Depression: 30, November, 2012, 10:30am, when doctor came out of the Operation Theatre, and declared that, papa cannot be operated because the cancer has spread to other body parts….It hit me hard…I cried …and I cried till papa left us. Papa left us, after three days I cried again, and I am still crying…..nothing excites me anymore, day are passing, but they are not so bright as they used to be…I am a part of them, but I am not living.

I am yet to find “something" that will help me to deal with papa’s going away. Though, I will never overcome my father’s fade out but some day I will learn to believe that, he is not physically with me but always around me….

Love you, Papa