Against Cancer...

It all started when my roommate came across a certain pamphlet about a certain walk against cancer on World Cancer Day.

Cancer. The word made me sit up. I decided then and there that I will be a part of the walk.

So, Sunday Morning, after a fitful sleep, my roommate and I left for the venue which we still have to locate. All we know is that the walk will be flagged off at some sports ground at Vinay Marg in ChanakyaPuri at 8:30 AM. We left campus at 7:00 am, sleep deprived and hungry. We reached the venue before the gates were opened and we were one of the first people to spot-register!

The event turned out to be an international event organised by an NGO CanSupport. The walk aimed to sensitise people about the growing threat of cancer and the need to face this challenge by aiding the growth of services that help people cope with the aftermath. Rubbing shoulders with VIPs, ambassadors and cancer survivors, we walked 4kilometres that day around ChanakyaPuri.

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In the crisp morning air, with late-winter sunrise, it felt good to be a part of something worthwhile. It was an emotional moment for me when cancer survivors took their ‘lap of honour’ in the sports ground. They were later carried in a special vintage cars and motorbikes at the 4 km walk. People from all age groups, different nationalities and backgrounds were present in the walk. Children on bikes and rollerblades ran along us, while toddlers in prams with milk bottles could be spotted occasionally. We all walked against Cancer, we walked for hope and support !

Cancer survivors walking the 'lap of honour'. They were the rockstars of the day!

Walking down the scenic Shanti Path at ChanakyaPuri!

I walked for my mother, who succumbed to a battle with cancer seven years ago. I remember the agony that this dreadful disease threw the family into; I remember the hopelessness the family felt when Mom was diagnosed; I remember the pain of letting her go and the dark, dark cloud that shrouded us in the years that followed. I won’t want anyone else; any family to go through that. Yet, every other month, I hear news about a distant relative, a neighbour, a family friend inflicted with the disease. There’s not much I can do for them except pray. But today I walk. I walk for all my far and near ones who suffer from and who succumbed to cancer.

I walk for hope, I walk for support, I walk against cancer!

Candle of Light.

Be a candle of light;
To someone today.
Bring hope and care;
A long their way.

Reach out your hand;
To a survivor’s path,
Help them now;
To smile and laugh.

For love is healing,
No greater gift.
Found in a heart;
Who gave a lift.

Mona Adams . .. survivor