Life Was Perfect, She Was Happily Married, Things Changed, She Has Been
Diagnosed With Ovarian Cancer & Can No Longer Concieve

“Until the age of 27, life was perfect. I was happily married. I had the perfect social life. I had my entire life in front of me.

Not even in my wildest dreams did I think things would change. But they did.

It was in December 2021. It started off with a stomach ache–the kind that not just hurts your body but also your soul. And then came the bloating. A few days later, people started telling me, ‘Surbhi, you look 8 months pregnant.’ And when the medicines didn’t work, I went for the tests.

That’s when my world spiraled. There was a 30 cm cyst in my ovary. Before I could process anything, I was admitted for a surgery and was diagnosed with stage 1 Ovarian Cancer. Things kept spiraling. I went in for another surgery.
But as bad as things had gotten, they also seemed to get better. Since we’d removed one ovary, I’d gone into remission. Things got normal and I became more grateful for this life. But around the same time again in December 2022, the pain returned. It was jarring.

The doctors thought it was my anxiety as it was the first anniversary of my diagnosis. But it was far from that. A few tests revealed that my cancer had come back. And this time, it was worse with Stage 3. I’d just cry all day wondering ‘Why me?’

My family stood strong. My parents, in-laws, and my husband made sure I didn’t feel low. They’d keep saying, ‘You’ll get better, You have to!!’
Their words helped me through my 10-hour-long surgery which sucked the life out of me.

As my second ovary was removed, my stomach was left with no mass. To make up for it, my thighs were cut open. It left me with 149 stitches.
And if this wasn’t enough, I was also told, ‘Now you can’t conceive.’ I didn’t know what to say. I think I survived those few days only because of my family; I wouldn’t have without them. Even now, I am getting through.

Of course the future seems scary. Life seems unpredictable now. My Chemo has already started and will go on for 6 months.
And amidst all of this, I also know that I will no longer fit the expectations of society as a woman.

Because a woman’s identity is mainly about how many kids she can bore. But honestly, I don’t care. For me, being a woman means to be strong-willed, to be courageous, and to be resilient. And as long as I am all of them, I am not going to worry about anything!”

Written by: Anam Mirajkar

Source: Humans of Bombay

Email: elora.akpotosevbe@yahoo.com