मां मार्गदर्शक, मां आदर्श

निकिता गारिया अभी पत्रकारिता में स्नातक की पढ़ाई कर रही हैं। उनका लिखना सिर्फ शौक या कैरियर की जरूरत नहीं है। उन्होंने अपने ब्लॉग n life goes on में अपनी मां की आपबीती पर एक लेख लिखा है। मां का स्तन कैंसर से आमना-सामना और फिर उससे उबर कर सहज मानवीयता के तहत दूसरों को इस बीमारी के बारे में जागरुक करने की कोशिशें। बेटी सब देख रही है और यह सब उसकी सोच में दर्ज होता जा रहा है। उसने अपने ब्लॉग में मां पर यह पोस्ट डाली जिसे मैं उसकी इजाजत से यहां चेप रही हूं। मकसद हैं- बात, चाहे जिस माध्यम से हो, दूर तक, गहरे तक फैले ताकि कैंसर के खिलाफ मोर्चा मजबूत हो।


Cancer and beyond

It was 21st January 2002 when she was confronted with a reality, she did not want to accept. For a moment, her life came to a halt. She thought it was the end. With her translucent eyes, she saw her two little children. This was the day when she was told she had BREAST CANCER. She had never been so scared in her life, for her life. She only wanted God to answer her one question, “Why only me!”

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Five years hence, bearing the pain of countless therapies, she knows she is not alone. There are many like her and the number is only increasing. But the government has done little to spread awareness. Since, the most common sign of breast cancer is a new lump, which is painless; many women tend to ignore it. And in a society like ours, where talking about breasts is as much a taboo as sex, who will lead the awareness crusade?

It was then that she decided to take the plunge. So, she along with a friend(also a cancer patient) took upon themselves the onerous task of educating as many people as possible. They started out by informing people at kitty parties. It was tough to make the ladies ignore tambola and food, and make them listen to a lecture! However, they never gave up. For them, even if one woman gets motivated out of thirty, it’s a great achievement. As she says, “This is just the beginning.”