We were driving on the Chennai-Bangalore highway, all four of us, me, my husband, his sister and brother-in-law. Midway, we stopped at an ordinary chai-stall. As a 'routine' since past 6-7 months, I had been having a disturbed stomach with a permanent feel to relieve myself. As I was done with excretion, in the Indian type commode, I noticed a few drops of fresh blood, it was shocking. Rushing to my husband and my brother in-law, who were enjoying their tea outside, I narrated my observation. They took it very seriously.

On reaching Bangalore, the next day their family doctor was summoned, and to my horror, he looked terribly serious as he placed his palm on my abdomen. Calling out to my husband he wrote out a number of check-ups to be done urgently. The investigations reported a large cyst in my abdomen. In a matter of 48 hours, my whole life took a topsy turvy turn.

My husband booked a return flight that very evening to Hyderabad and I contacted my gynecologist to check why this condition came up after two decades of my uterus removal. She calmly explained that I was just 40 years old then, and in the medical field it had been taught that ovaries need not be removed during hysterectomy if the patient was lesser than younger 60 years.

As the crucial week passed, I had to undergo a lot of tests like CT scans, Doppler test, tests for cancer etc. A fear of the unknown gripped me.

Ultimately, with the reports, we met the leading oncologist and he immediately confirmed the growth of a huge cyst/tumour in the abdomen and also advised a surgery urgently. Within a week of that fateful highway drive, I had landed up in the operation theatre for the removal of an ovarian cyst measuring 5100 cm and weighing almost 2 kgs!

God, in His benevolence, had given me a new life by letting my family have the relief to know that the tumour was not malignant. Had that been the case, I would have had barely 2 months to live. Of course on the 9th day after the successful surgery, the biopsy results did show ovarian cancer of stage 1/A and I can confidently tell everyone that I have undergone the mandatory chemo sessions, 4 of them with barely any side effects and I’m on the way to a new life.

This is my story and it’s my new beginning and with a positive outlook. Yeah, this is my love story with the Indian Toilet that saved my life. 

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