: ‘What 3 Rounds of Chemo Taught Me as a Teen’: Woman Helps Cancer Patients for Free #IndiaNEWS #cancer Swagatika Acharya, a skilled Odissi dancer, loves performing dance. “Dancing makes me feel

‘What 3 Rounds of Chemo Taught Me as a Teen’: Woman Helps Cancer Patients for Free #IndiaNEWS #cancer
Swagatika Acharya, a skilled Odissi dancer, loves performing dance. “Dancing makes me feel alive. Its an emotion that rushes in my blood,�? says the 24-year-old from Cuttack, Odisha, who was diagnosed with nasopharyngeal carcinoma (a type of cancer that affects the nasopharynx), in 2017.

A teenager, just a year into pursuing the Bachelor of Legislative Law (LLB) programme from Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (SOA), deemed to be a University in Bhubaneswar, her education became distant. But Swagatika didn’t give up and was more determined than ever to live a high-spirited life and pursue her dreams to become a lawyer, scuba diver and paraglide in Thailand, all of which she has accomplished after recovering from cancer.

Recalling the day in October 2017, when she held her reports in her hand, she says, “I was the one who opened my reports. My family thought I’d be in trauma when I’d find out I have cancer because I was young. But I wasn’t shocked. I was aware there is a treatment, and I’d recover and get better. �?

The 24-year-old, who today practices at the High Court of Odisha and is also a Masters student of law SOA, is nothing less than a fighter. “There were just two options: That I either fight to win or just sit back and think why life had made this decision for me,�? she says.

She not only fought cancer but also established Awaaken Cancer Care Trust in Cuttack, Odisha, a non-profit organisation that aims for a cancer-free nation and strives to improve healthcare in the communities of Odisha.

Finding light in the darkness

Swagatika Acharya

Manoranjan Acharya, Swagatika’s father, was the strongest support in her life. He recalls Swagatika as a fragile child who cried every time she saw an injection. But cancer treatment toughened her. He says, “During her chemotherapy and radiotherapy, Swagatika has taken hundreds of needles. I’ve lost count. �?

The side effects of chemotherapy made it challenging to locate her vein by the end of her treatment. Watching his daughter go through this treatment, Manoranjan adds that he is proud of his daughter’s fighting spirit. He says, “Her confidence has always been high. �?

Swagatika was informed by her doctors that she would lose her hair once the chemotherapy started. So she took a bold decision to go bald.

She underwent three cycles of chemotherapy and 37 doses of radiotherapy. She recollects the two-and-a-half month-long radiotherapy, as the toughest part of her cancer treatment. She explains, “I lost my voice for four months and was unable to speak so I communicated using a notepad.