They have dueled with the emperor of maladies and emerged victorious on the other side. With Bollywood director Mahesh Bhatt by their side, cancer survivors from the city took part in a unique celebration of their journeys with the The Self V Film Festival – a screening of minute long self-videos made by survivors in an effort to showcase the excruciating struggle of their conquest over the illness. The evening not only highlighted the power of self-told stories, but also brought to light the inimitable characteristics of each survivor.
Breast cancer survivor Vandana Ramnane has been sharing her experiences with those who had been isolated in the negativity surrounding their illness through the Pink Hope cancer support group. The maker of the winning self video says, “When you are diagnosed first, you do whatever a doctor tells you to do. For the longest time, you speak to doctors and nurses who tell you about how your recovery will progress. What is missing from all this is a chat with a survivor – someone who was a fellow patient and who can speak on the ordeal with some authority. So we opened up this platform so that survivors get to share their stories with patients and their caregivers.”
One of the winners, Narendra Shetty was diagnosed with bone cancer at the age of 14 in 2005. Today, Shetty is all set to sit for his final year Chartered Accountant exams and is one of those who believe in the power of a community in shaping a person’s recovery from cancer. The 24 year old says, “I had to undergo 14 cycles of chemotherapy and by femur had to be amputated. Through it all, the survivor groups of Ugam and Spandan have kept me in touch with many kids like me, who were afflicted with cancer when they hadn’t even reached 16. My video was to share their stories as well.”
For second prize winner Ruchi Dilbagi, her video was to create awareness among a very specific group of people. “It is women that I mainly targeted when I sat down to make a video,” says the 40-year-old vendor manager who used to go to work, straight from chemo sessions. “It is to encourage ladies not to ignore their illnesses. I have known from experience how mothers who would rush to the doctor for a slight fever of their children would just pop a pill and forget about their own headache instead of heading for a scan,” finishes Ruchi.
