Eighty-five-year-old Indian expat grandmother triumphs over cancer for the third time, serving as a source of inspiration for all.
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Dubai: On Friday, eighty-five-year-old Bhama Subramanian, a resilient Indian expat grandmother, shared her remarkable story as a three-time cancer survivor at an awareness drive held at the Indian Consulate.
Addressing a diverse audience, Subramanian, who has undergone multiple surgeries, radiation sessions, and chemotherapy, boasted that she was not just a survivor but a winner. Reflecting on her battles with breast cancer (2000), parotid gland cancer (2002), and spine cancer (2020), the stage four survivor expressed her gratitude towards her medical team, family, friends, and fellow warrior survivors.
Inspiring fellow survivors, Subramanian emphasized their strength and urged them to rise above challenges. "You are stronger than you think. No matter how many times life knocks you down, you can always rise again and again. Love and blessings," she said.
After her moving speech, Subramanian, a die-hard cricket fan and enthusiastic reader, highlighted her positive attitude towards life as the secret to her victory. She shared her regular hobbies, including reading, solving Sudoku, discussing politics, and engaging in various conversations.
Five courageous survivors, each having overcome breast cancer ranging from stage zero to stage four, shared their inspiring stories at the awareness drive, urging women to take proactive steps like self-breast examinations and early detection for a complete cure.
Stage one survivor Shazia Kouser, a former makeup artist and hair stylist, recounted her challenging journey. Diagnosed with breast cancer alongside her mother only two months apart in 2021, Kouser emphasized the importance of early detection and self-examination. She also stressed the need for prioritizing oneself, reminding everyone, "You matter."
Similarly, stage one survivor Premila D'Souza, a former banker and grandmother, underlined the possibility of life beyond cancer. "Do not fear cancer. Cancer should fear you," she said. The veteran advocate for early mammograms for women above 40 also emphasized the need for regular screenings to detect the disease at its early stages.
Throughout the event, Premi Mathew, a stage two survivor and the organizer of the event, worked tirelessly to promote awareness and increase proactivity among women. A founder of Hair for Hope India and the Protect Your Mom (PYM) campaign, Mathew's inspiring efforts have reached over 40,000 women in the UAE and India over the past 14 years.
The heartwarming event culminated in a 'Cut-A-Thon' session where forty participants aged six to 75, including women, girls, and four boys, generously donated their hair to create wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. The donated hair will be processed by Friends of Cancer Patients (FOCP) in Sharjah and provided free of cost to cancer patients across the UAE.
Notably, some of the hair donors shared emotional and touching stories, including a mother who lost her two-year-old daughter to cancer and a son whose father beat the disease. An 18-year-old wheelchair user with Duchenne muscular dystrophy also wished to join the cause.
In an awareness session, Dr. Nishi Singh, a medical professional and educator, stressed the importance of early detection, the role of genetic factors, and the necessity of a healthy lifestyle to boost immunity.
The Indian Consulate actively supported the event, with Bijender Singh, Head of Chancery and Consul (Protocol, Welfare, and Culture), joining organizers to launch the hair donation drive by cutting the long hair of a 10-year-old boy for the second time. He commended the survivors and donors for their nobility and expressed his admiration for their solidarity.
Reema Mahajan, founder of Indian Women in Dubai (IWD), also praised the event, referring to it as a gesture of healing. "We can turn fear into strength and loss into hope," she said. IWD, with a community of around 40,000 Indian expat women, had members among the donors as well.
Emotional, inspiring, and action-oriented, the cancer awareness event proved to be a powerful catalyst for early detection and supportive solidarity in the fight against cancer.
- Bhama Subramanian, a three-time cancer survivor, discussed her triumph as a stage four survivor of breast cancer, parotid gland cancer, and spine cancer, at an awareness drive at the Indian Consulate.
- The event also featured five courageous survivors who shared their inspiring stories, highlighting the importance of early detection and self-examination, especially for breast cancer.
- Premila D'Souza, a former banker who survived stage one breast cancer, insisted that cancer should fear individuals rather than the other way around, emphasizing the need for regular screenings and early mammograms for women over 40.
- In a heartwarming 'Cut-A-Thon' session during the event, forty participants donated their hair to create wigs for cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy, demonstrating solidarity in the fight against cancer.
- Dr. Nishi Singh, a medical professional, underlined the importance of early detection, the role of genetic factors, and the necessity of a healthy lifestyle to boost immunity in an awareness session during the event.
- Reema Mahajan, founder of Indian Women in Dubai, referred to the event as a gesture of healing, stating that it converts fear into strength and loss into hope.
- The event concluded as a powerful catalyst for early detection, emphasizing the importance of prevention, early detection, and supportive solidarity in the fight against various medical-conditions like cancer, particularly focusing on womens-health and breast-cancer, among others.
