Forty five-year-old Urvi Sabnis of Ahmedabad is a breast cancer survivor. Not only did she conquer the dreaded disease with a mix of treatment and will power, she now chips in with support for other cancer patients.
Along with many other cancer survivors, Sabnis is part of “The Pink Hope Cancer Patient Support Group”, a part of HCG Foundation, a social service wing of HCG Hospitals.
In a bid to do away with the taboo associated with cancer in the society, and boost the morale of cancer patients, the support group, along with HCG, on Thursday, unveiled the fourth edition of 'SelfV' survivor stories—it will accept 60-90 second videos of messages from cancer survivors. The video, capturing the story of the conquest, celebrating moments, can be uploaded on facebook.com/selfv or on www.selfv.in
Entries from India and the world should be sent within 45 days, and a jury will take the final decision. The best ones will be selected for a grand finale. Sabnis came second in the third edition of the event held last year. The previous edition witnessed over 600 entries.
She said that it was very important for her to share her story. Mentioning that she made it clear to the visitors that she did not want sympathy, Sabnis said that she used to do make up and wear large earrings when she went for her chemotherapy sessions.
Another cancer survivor, Amita Modi, fought cancer when her daughter was only one and a half years old in 2003. Detected with second stage breast cancer, the doctor gave her an example of an apple, a portion of which was rotten. “The rest is consumed. Similarly, I will remove the affected part,” she recollected the doctor telling her.
Dr Kaustabh Patel, cancer surgeon at HCG, Ahmedabad, said that if cancer was detected at an early stage, the chances of survival are high. He said that there have been many cases where even stage 4 patients have survived.
He said that the SelfV initiative was aimed at removing the taboo of cancer from the society and the messages given through the videos would provide strength to the cancer patients undergoing treatment.