World Cancer Day: Your Fight Against It Depends On How You Respond To It, Say Experts

Bhubaneswar: It cannot shake my faith. It cannot dent my courage. It cannot put a full stop. Cancer is no longer the scourge it used to be. 

This was the message delivered to a large gathering of cancer survivors who assembled to celebrate ‘World Cancer Day’ at the Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital on Tuesday.

“All that is needed is awareness and lifestyle change to avoid cancer, or if it strikes, get the available treatment to be free from its grip,” Prof. Gangadhar Sahoo, Dean of IMS and SUM Hospital, Faculty of Medical Sciences, SOA Deemed to be University, told the gathering.

The biggest attraction of the day was Anand Arnold, a cancer survivor from Ludhiana, who despite being confined to a wheelchair, is a celebrity today  as a bodybuilder of international fame.

“I was afflicted with cancer of the spine when I was only 15. I underwent surgery and followed it with physiotherapy for three years,” said Arnold, his chiseled body glistening under the spotlight.

This year’s theme being ‘I am and I will’, Prof. Sunil Agrawal, Onco Surgeon at SUM Hospital’s Department of Onco Sciences, said once a person is diagnosed with cancer, a great deal depended on how he reacts to the situation.