The Week India – July 21, 2019

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Farida Rizwan

“I divide my life into BC and AD – Before

Cancer and After Diagnosis. For better or

worse, I was never the same person again.”

Mother. Counsellor. Gamer.

And Winner.

Mother, counsellor, gamer Farida Rizwan wears many
hats with panache. But there’s a queen-sized crown
she wears, and that’s of a survivor. She is the fourth
member of her family to be diagnosed with cancer.
Her father was afflicted in 1992, her sister in 1994,
and her own diagnosis happened in 1996. Her mother
succumbed to breast cancer 10 years later, in 2006.

“I was feeding my 11-month-old daughter when I felt
a hard lump in my breast. At the time I thought it may
be hardened milk, but when I did a self-examination
later in the shower, I realized this was something else.
I went to the doctor and a biopsy confirmed that it
was Stage 3 infiltrating breast carcinoma,” says
Farida, now 50.

A Walk to Remember.

Farida dealt with the situation by spending more time
with her children. “During my chemo, we lived in
Rajarajeshwarinagar, and my daughter was being
treated at Bangalore Children’s Hospital. My doctor
encouraged me to walk 5 km daily from my home to
Omkar Hills. I would carry my daughter on my walks,
because as a special needs child, she started walking
only by the age of five. My arm, which had become
painful to use after my surgery, got stronger as I had
to keep picking her up. I was determined to see how
much I could push myself.”

Guts and Glory.

Farida’s resilience was perhaps shaped at birth itself:
she was born with a clubfoot. It was further
strengthened by the realization that she had to be
around for her children. “My daughter was nervous
and cranky and my son was scared. Looking after my
sister had taken a great toll on my parents. They had
aged 10 years overnight. I also had ambitions for
myself. In school, I had been a topper in both
academics and sports despite having a clubfoot. My
marriage ended my education, but I wanted to
achieve more. My diagnosis made me resolve that
this was not how I was going to die.”

THE WEEK • JULY 21, 2019 17

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