Biggest Pleasure of Life after Breast Cancer Surgery in India

How amazing we all feel when someone compliments us for our hour-glass figure or beautiful skin! I also have been at the receiving end of all the lovely compliments, but a small lump on one breast changed it all one day. Had Dr. Rajeev Agarwal Best Surgical Oncologist in India not been there, I would not be in this world telling you all my story of survival. It was the correct diagnosis, excellent surgical procedures and the unmatched hospitality of people out there in India that helped me fight the dreaded disease of Breast Cancer and emerge victorious too.

You must be thinking all this time who I am and what it is all about. I am a woman in my thirties, my name is Christina. My mother gave me such a beautiful name as I was born after seven years of her marriage. She considered me God’s favorite gift. I soon bloomed into a beautiful woman and started living in with my boyfriend. After about six years of living together, we got married. All was going fine and we had started dreaming about babies, too, when life threw us a curveball.

There are certain incidents that we think will never happen to us, such as catching a dreaded disease or losing someone very close to us. I also was living a normal, happy life. One day while watching a woman's health awareness show on TV, I was drawn towards checking my breast while standing in front of the mirror. The lady on TV was a cancer specialist who was telling about the general precautions that women should take when they are above 30. Checking the breast regularly was one of those as it helped many women to detect the possibility of breast cancer. I performed the check as was shown on TV.

It said:

What I started only for fun turned out to be a life-changing moment for me. I noticed some sort of swelling in the right breast near my armpit. When I pressed, it pained too and I did feel sort of lump on gently caressing the breast. It did alarm me. I decided to see my gynecologist put my fears aside.

My doctor checked my breast again. Asked me a few more questions, such as:

She did notice that my left nipple was a bit retracted and certainly looked a bit different from the right one. She referred me for a mammogram which I got done the following day. She, however, told me that mammogram may not tell whether it is a cancerous mass or just a lump.

She also suggested the name of a cancer specialist in my city (I live in Nigeria, by the way!). I booked myself an appointment with the cancer specialist. He asked me to come to see him about after four days, it was a Friday. So, this half of the week gave me sleepless nights thinking of the outcome. The cancer specialist did not report any lump in the mammogram report. But I wanted the closure for pain and swelling. He suggested me to go for biopsy of the breast lump; it was to be done in his own clinic.

I got the result of biopsy in about two days. My cancer specialist told me that it certainly is a malignant lump. He called it lobular carcinoma in situ. He suggested a treatment that included a surgical procedure called a lumpectomy. It meant the removal of the lump using wide local excision.

I came home with a heavy heart. The cancer specialist suggested not to waste time and prepare for the surgery. I talked to my husband; he was really shattered to hear this. Given the condition of the medical services in Nigeria, we were not convinced at all to go for the treatment in our country. We wanted to get rid of this dreadful disease by seeking the best possible treatment. So, we started searching for the treatments available in other countries.

While searching for hospitals and doctors working in this field, we came across the term ‘medical tourism’. Various countries run medical tourism programs. But it was India and that caught my attention. Their Affordable Breast Cancer Surgery in India Patient Review and the number of people treated through medical tourism was phenomenally high in the last seven years. This country has the best doctors in the field of cancer and the Cost of Breast Cancer Surgery in India is quite low as compared to other parts of the world. Impressed by the statistics, we searched for medical tourism companies in India and selected India Cancer Surgery site- a group of surgeons and hospitals after talking to about ten companies. This company has an excellent customer support team that knows its job really well. I vouch for this because of the exceptional quality of conduct that we got to experience in the ensuing period.

What happened was that, with all hopes, we dialed the customer support number of the medical service provider. A lady with a very charming voice took our call and spoke to us in detail enquiring about our purpose. I asked her:

The lady on the phone answered all the questions very patiently. She gave us the assurance of the best possible treatment. She told us not to worry at all. Her answers were:

She suggested not to waste much time if I am diagnosed with cancer. She gave me the email ID to send the report. I told her that the doctor in my city has suggested lumpectomy and wanted to know what doctors in India think about the reports. She assured me the speedy reply and confirmed the receipt of the reports when she got them on the email ID provided by her.Meanwhile, we tried to collect a lot of information about India and its medical care facilities. I was impressed to know that there are specialized cancer hospitals that provide world-class care and treatment to the patients coming from all over the world. There was a lot of work done in this field and treatments are of advanced nature.

The medical service provider lady got back to me after about 4 days. She gave me the list of Top 10 Surgical Oncologist in India who she sent the reports to. She confirmed to me that all the doctors are suggesting lumpectomy in India too. She gave me the list and profiles of the doctors she contacted. I and my husband did enquire about the gravity of the situation. She said that doctors shared that I was in curable stage and told to get the surgery done as fast as possible. She gave me the itemized quote of the packages for the surgery I needed about four hospitals. I enquired about each of them.

I felt very comfortable while reading about Dr. Rajeev Agarwal Best Surgical Oncologist in India. He is the chief surgical oncologist in one of the Top 5 Cancer Hospitals in India. The city was also directly connected with my country. He had done a lot of work in breast conversation surgery. I certainly did not want to part with my breast completely and wanted to have a reconstruction surgery also if the lump required removing the tissues surgically. The doctor was a perfect fit for the situation I was stuck in.

So, I called the medical service provider. Surprisingly, she remembered me and talked to me as if we were keeping in touch regularly. I told her about my choice. She accepted my request and also told me to stay relaxed about travel and related worries. She said, “Please share who will accompany me.” I told her that I will be coming with my husband and my sister. She asked me to share certain documents required for a medical visa and asked me to be ready to travel by next month.Since it was invasive lobular carcinoma, it granted me a wait time of about three months, because I wanted to get reconstruction surgery done too. The medical service provider got the medical visa for all three of us the fastest possible. Their swiftness of procedures was commendable and finally, I arrived in New Delhi on the 12th of July, 2015.

The India cancer Surgery site representative called me as soon as I reached the airport and enquired about my wellbeing. She told me about the taxi details and gave the driver’s and an India cancer Surgery site representative’s details on my WhatsApp number. I got the call from the number given to me, so their coordinated way of dealing with us really impressed me and made me quite comfortable.We were driven to an internationally acclaimed hotel in a very comfortable and spacious sedan. All my luggage and belongings were safely loaded on the car and the representative told me about the suite booked in advance. Once we reached the hotel, the concierge took us to the rooms assigned and our representative told us that he was just a call away whenever we needed him. He told us that our appointment with Dr. Rajeev was fixed for the next day.

About 10 am in the morning the next day, our representative came and enquired whether we had our breakfast and asked us about the food choice for lunch. He, then, took us to the doctor who was to meet us in the hospital where he was working. It was about 15 minutes’ drive from our hotel and this really was the best part as we were quite impatient to meet the doctor. Dr. Rajeev was already present at the hospital and called us immediately to his cabin. The medical service provider representative had already done all the formalities regarding our visit to him. He greeted us with a very friendly smile. He was a very cheerful and empathetic person. Just looking at him calmed me down and I felt having reached the right place. But what impressed me more was his knowledge about the disease. We were full of doubts and worries, and so we asked whatever that came in our mind. Some of the questions asked were:

He smiled and said, “First good thing is that your report is indicating at the possibility of full recovery.” He wrote certain tests that were required to ascertain fitness for the surgery and also to find the latest status of the tumor. All tests were conducted in the same hospital; thus, it did not trouble us much. He told us the time required for the reports and asked us to meet again with the fresh reports. Once we got the reports, we went to see him. It was a gap of three days before we met the doctor again. The doctor greeted us and addressed us with our names, which spoke a lot about the personal attention he gave to the patients. He, then, explained the reports in detail. He answered our questions as under:

Finally, the day of the surgery arrived. Dr Rajeev made me feel very comfortable and showed us in advance how the procedure is performed. I was not able to hide my nervousness despite all the efforts. He reiterated that surgery is the best option and increases the chances of leading a normal life again. He assured me that the surgery will not have any side-effects and that after the reconstructive procedure, I will not feel any difference.I spoke to the doctor to find more about the surgery. I was curious that since nothing was visible in the mammogram, how he was going to find the site of excision. He explained that ultrasound provides the required information and helps him carry forth the surgery of the correct site. He said that I will be given general anesthesia to carry out the procedure, so I was not going to feel any pain or discomfort.

The medical service provider representative stayed with my husband and sister throughout the procedure. “I will wait for you here”, said my husband before I was taken to the operation theatre. The moment still leaves me jittered as I never had any surgery before. I was keeping calm to ensure that my surgery goes fast. Dr. Rajeev did his best to make me comfortable and performed the surgery in less than the stipulated time. It was his confidence and thorough knowledge that kept us strong throughout the treatment,My husband and my sister waited anxiously in a plush lobby for my surgery to get over. It took about one and a half-hours’ time including the preparations, anesthesia and surgical removal of the affected tissues of the breast. The doctor revealed that other adjoining tissues were also removed to avoid the remotest possibility. The Cost of Breast Cancer Surgery in India was damn lower than I found in other countries.

Once the surgery was over, I was shifted to the intensive care unit. When I opened my eyes, I was delighted to see my husband. A lot of precaution was taken to ensure that I get complete rest and my condition was regularly shared with my husband. When I came into complete senses, the doctor came to see me. He gave us a complete post-operation care schedule. Since I wanted to have reconstruction surgery, he suggested going back to my city and giving the body time to heal up.

He told us a few things about the recovery period:

Only after about 3-4 days, I started feeling better. He kept me under observation for another two days and that was it. The staff and the attendants worked round the clock to provide me the best care. They enquired from time to time, gave me all medicines on time and kept my husband posted about my recovery. We asked when we could go back to our country. The doctor told us to follow the post-operative care correctly which we did as we did not want to take any chance with the disease. Finally, the day arrived when I was all set to go back to my people. I was feeling really strong and relieved. Doctor asked us to get another ultrasound done. He showed us that the lump portion was now completely absent. He also shared with us the healing process through an explanatory diagram. He wished us the best and spent some time with us to tell us about the tests to be done and asked us to visit the cancer specialist in our country as per the follow-up schedule. He also gave us his phone number and suggested that we make him talk to our doctor whenever needed.

I did go back to the same hospital and to Dr. Rajeev to get my reconstruction surgery done. India Cancer Surgery site- a group of surgeons and hospitals, gave us all the support that we needed and got us the medical visa that allowed us to revisit India hassle-free. Breast reconstruction was also required in order to assure that I would want to be a mother some time or the other in my lifetime. I sincerely think that it was all due to the kind support of Dr. Rajeev and his team and the commitment of the medical service provider that I could fight this disease with unwavering courage.I am completely cancer-free now and leading a life that could be no better. My body feels stronger and there is nothing that makes me feel less beautiful about me. And that is the gift that the Medical service provider and its entire team gave me a wonderful opportunity to lead a healthy and happy life. The affordable Cost of Breast Cancer Surgery in India has helped us a lot. As per my consulting gynecologist, I am also now fit to conceive and give birth to a healthy baby. My husband and I are the happiest people today and what else a couple can ask for after living a few happy years in marriage. Though my doctor did confirm but yet I was worried about everything.