Ananda Shankar - A battle with cancer

 I suddenly find out that I have cancer. It was all over. During treatment, I became giddy. It was all painful. But I did not let disappointment dominate me. I also used to go to dance studio during treatment. Dance gave me strength, to fight cancer. Hard times make you feel your inner strength. I told myself that cancer is not the end of my life, just a chapter. And I conquered cancer.

Ananda Shankar is a well-known classical dancer of the country. He has received several big national awards including Padma Shri. She got breast cancer in the year 2008. On receiving this news, there was disappointment among his fans. But Ananda conquered the disease through his high spirits and strong will. Highlights of his speech:

Dance trip

When I was four, my mother inspired me to learn dance. It was four decades ago, since then I have been dancing. Dance is my life, my inspiration, my strength. I did hundreds of shows in India and abroad. I gained a lot of fame through dance. Won many awards at national and international level. Padma Shri got the biggest award. This is the year of 2007. It was a matter of great pride for me. I was really happy to receive this award.

The biggest shock

But on July 1, 2008, I received a news that shook me. I found out that I have cancer. Yes, breast cancer. I was stunned to hear the word cancer. I first heard words like cancer, stage and grade in reference to a disease. Before that I knew that cancer is my friend's zodiac sign. Stage, ie a stage on which I dance and grades are the marks I used to get in school. But that day, the doctor told me at which stage my cancer is. Hearing about cancer, my heart was shaken, as if everything was over.

Feeling of fear

As a dancer, I know about the nine juices like anger, hatred, humor and fear. I have been expressing these feelings in dance, but that day I felt real fear, I felt life was over. I cried a lot I asked my husband Jayant, "Is my life over here?" Will I ever be able to dance now? ’There were a thousand such questions in my mind. It was difficult to handle myself. After listening to my question husband explained to me. He is a positive minded person. His answer was, 'No, this is a phase of your life, after crossing it you will be back on the stage of dance.'

Power of mind

Earlier I used to feel that my life is completely under my control. But my point of view changed after I learned about cancer. I realized that we have control over only three things - thoughts, brain and work. Those were the hardest moments of my life. I wanted to get out of that pain. Then I wiped my tears. Told people, yes I have cancer, but this is only a chapter in my life. I will come out of this soon. To be honest, I personally told my friends and close people about my illness. I told him clearly that I do not need any kind of sympathy. I did not want people to sympathize with me and call me 'poor'.

uphill battle

During treatment, my scalp hair was gone, I was bald. Within three days I grew from a beautiful woman to a weak and sick woman. I could dance continuously for three hours, but during the illness it was difficult for me to climb the ladder of the plane. It was all painful. But I explained to myself that I would not let the tears and fear dominate me. Of course, I needed someone's help to come out of those difficult moments. At that time, dance gave me strength, inspiration, energy. Because of the dance, I managed to fight cancer and get out of that shock. Obviously, it was not all that easy. It was a tough fight.

Dance has forgotten the pain

During that time, despite all the difficulties, I used to go to the dance studio every day. I resumed work on the nuances of dance. I renewed my focus on dance expressions and philosophy. Not only this, I danced on stage only a few weeks after surgery. You will be surprised to know that I was dancing during chemotherapy and radiation. It was strange to see people in dance studios in those days. But I was comfortable. To tell the truth, I used to forget all my pain during the dance. In this way I was able to recover from the shock of the disease.

Story lesson

My story is not the story of any particular person. This story is a victory of hope over hope. There will be difficulties and challenges in our life, we cannot stop them. This story is about the power of ideas. This story reveals the power of choice. If your intentions are strong and if you can make better choices, then you can fight with the greatest difficulty. Hard times allow us to feel our inner strength. Today I feel like I have won a big battle in the field of cancer. I don't want people to know me as a woman who survived despite cancer. I want me to be remembered as a woman who conquered cancer.