How blood cancer steeled her resolve to beat it and become a researcher at the hospital that saved her

THE DELAYED DIAGNOSIS THAT PROLONGED HER PAIN

Komal is the second child of a farmer’s family in Maharashtra’s Amravati district and was keen to attend a Central school so that she could avail mainstream education. “We had a Marathi-medium government school. So, I decided to get admission into a renowned Central government school, Navodaya Vidyalaya, in Amravati town that provides free CBSE education and boarding,” she says, mindful about not burdening the already stressed resources of her family.

But soon her dream came crashing down when in 2006 she started falling sick repeatedly. She was too feeble to even stand on her feet and started losing weight. Concerned about her deteriorating health condition, her father brought her back to their village of Dhamak, 70 km from Amravati. But even with home food and the family taking extra care of her, she did not get any better. Consultation with several doctors only meant a change of her drug regime, delaying her diagnosis. Worst of all, every doctor misread her symptoms. “For three months, I was put on a tuberculosis regime,” recalls Komal.

But her father was so determined to cure her at any cost that he took her to a private children’s hospital in Nagpur. “I still remember it was Diwali the day my father decided to take me to Nagpur. I told him I just wanted to stay at home for that night. He agreed and we travelled the next morning. A bone marrow aspiration at this facility revealed that I was suffering from a type of blood cancer called Anaplastic Large Cell Lymphoma and was in Stage IV of disease progression,” adds she.

It was too late. Her lymphatic system was badly affected, causing swelling in her lymph nodes and spleen. She was immediately referred to Tata Memorial. “My father hid my condition from me and said we were going for a vacation to Mumbai,” says Komal. And that marked the beginning of her battle against cancer that continued till 2015.

CANCER IS ALWAYS COSTLY, TO THE POCKET AND TO THE BODY

Mumbai was entirely new to the father and daughter, who had no place to stay and found it difficult to arrange fresh, home-made food that was needed in her condition. But with the help of the hospital’s social work department, they found accommodation at the Sant Gadage Baba Ashram, Dadar. “With a huge waiting list for rooms, we found a spot in the open area. A week later, we were assigned a room where we stayed for one-and-a-half years to continue regular chemotherapy,” she says.

Her initial journey of chemotherapy was painful as after each cycle, she had to be admitted for post-therapy complications and infection, which doubled the cost of treatment despite the subsidised rates for the economically backward. “Arranging funds meant the education of my brother and sister was also compromised. My mother had to rush between the village and Mumbai as she had to take care of the farm. My father had to roam day and night in search of a blood bank,” she adds.

She was only 14-year-old when she was diagnosed with blood cancer after five months of wrong treatment in a small village in Maharashtra’s Amravati. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

However, their struggle paid off when she responded well to the chemotherapy and was allowed to go home after one-and-a-half years. Without wasting any time, she took admission in a local school. “After such a long gap, it was difficult for me to join school as I had lost my hair due to chemotherapy, was more prone to infections and did not regain the physical strength I had prior to the cancer treatment. Still, I continued my studies with whatever strength I had. I attended school whenever possible. Otherwise, I studied from home,” she says.

But more challenges were to come. Within three months of completing her first line of therapy, she developed lymphadenopathy. A biopsy confirmed a relapse. This time Komal didn’t give up her studies while undergoing chemotherapy at the district hospital as a cheaper alternative. She only went to Tata Memorial for follow-ups. She would take about three days to recover from chemotherapy, which meant she could attend school for only half a week. “I remember a biopsy was scheduled during my Class X board exam on a lymph node in my neck but I managed to take the exams with that injury. Still I scored 84 per cent and was topper in my school,” says Komal about the little triumphant moments that kept her going.

CHEMOTHERAPY NO BAR TO EDUCATION

As she wanted to become a doctor, she took up science in Class XI. But as there was no higher education institution in the village, the family shifted to Amravati town. Even during her Class XII exam preps, Komal was on weekly chemotherapy cycles, balancing her regular classes and tuitions in half a week. Again, she scored 80 per cent and was the topper in her school. Not only that, Komal cleared the medical entrance examination and was one step short of her dream to be a researcher. But her cancer again relapsed in 2012. And she missed her admission due to lack of a medical fitness certificate. “I waited it out and the following year, I took admission in biology, graduating in 2016 with distinction,” she says.

Even fate had to give in to Komal’s will power and positive outlook. By now she was in complete remission. So her doctors decided to do a bone-marrow transplant to avoid a possible relapse of disease. She underwent the transplant in June 2016 and stayed for ten months at the Tata Memorial’s Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) at Kharghar. But that didn’t deter her from pursuing higher studies. She applied to Tata Memorial’s Masters in Clinical Research programme. “I found it a more appropriate path to pursue my career in cancer research. This meant I had to stay in Tata Memorial premises. My parents were relieved because the doctors would be around if there was any health concern,” Komal says. She appeared for the entrance examination, got selected for the interview and made the final cut. She was lucky as the course was financially supported by the hospital’s “Childhood Care Education programme.”

Komal was in the fourth stage of cancer and her chance of survival was only 20 percent. It was November 2006. Now, 16 years after, fighting against all odds and repeated relapse, the woman is working as a clinical researcher at Tata Memorial Hospital which gave her a new lease of life. (Express Photo by Amit Chakravarty)

In 2019, Komal completed her course with a gold medal. Currently, she is working with her own doctors in retrospective research projects related to bone-marrow transplantation. “My journey may sound sad, frustrating and hectic but challenges made me grow as a person. They helped me understand self-motivation and the value of time and persistence. They made me realise the value of each breath and encouraged me to make it worthy,” says Komal, who is preparing for her PhD entrance examination on health science in haemato malignancies, a cancer that begins in blood-forming tissue, such as the bone marrow, or in the cells of the immune system. Examples of hematologic cancer are leukemia, lymphoma and multiple myeloma. “Once I complete my PhD, I may contribute to breakthrough research in blood cancer for early recovery,” she adds.