Bengaluru-based kickboxer Girish R Gowda always had a zest to fight, and he has proved it in the ring several times, winning more than 40 medals in state, national and international championships. However, cancer can wear even the best down, and it took a toll on Gowda too. He had lost all hope for life after being diagnosed with blood cancer (leukaemia) in 2017.
He recalls his mind going blank in shock after being delivered the news. When he developed fever, lumps, and blood clots all over his body, he, along with his physicians, who he consulted first, ruled the symptoms off as a normal infection. “My gums started bleeding too. I thought it was because of how I brushed my teeth. My dentist said that it could be just an infection. But since none of the symptoms subsided and the fever persisted, I got admitted to a hospital where they ran some tests. The blood kept oozing out of my hand after they took the sample and my platelet count first dropped to 6,000 and then to 4,000 mcL,” he narrates.
Braving through 103 chemotherapy sessions
He says that the private hospital he was admitted to demanded Rs 30 lakh even before starting the treatment. He further adds that despite doctors’ recommendations and repeated requests by family, they refused to begin the treatment. “We assured that we will somehow manage to pay the bills and requested them to start the treatment, but they didn’t. They billed me Rs 2 lakh for just two days of hospitalisation. My sister suggested that we try another hospital and we shifted to one in Yelahanka,” he says, adding that he had lost all hope and had no will to live, being a burden on his family. The only earning members of the family were he and two of his four sisters. His father passed away when he was 12.
“My family would put up a brave face in front of me, but I knew that they were crying when I was not around. I was under the treatment of Dr Hari Menon. He would advise me to go to the movies and lead a regular life, which gave me hope and strength to fight,” he says.
But he always had the question, “Why me?” He says, “I never consumed alcohol or smoked, maintained a healthy diet and of course, worked out. How could I get cancer? The doctor counselled me. I also saw a six-month-old baby at the hospital undergoing cancer treatment. I thought to myself that I have at least lived 31 years of my life.” Being a travel enthusiast and nature lover, he would often go on hikes and treks that helped him relieve stress and gave him time for self-introspection during treatment.
He underwent 103 sessions of chemotherapy and became cancer-free after 10 months on December 14, 2017. The date is still etched in his mind.
His first fight after blood cancer
His doctor advised him not to get back into the ring for at least two to three years. “But I just wanted to participate. I did not aim to win. However, I luckily won my ninth gold medal in the national championships, breaking my previous record just 32 days after the treatment. I completed the fight in 43 seconds and gifted the medal to the hospital,” he says.
Gowda hung up the gloves in 2020 due to some politics in the sports industry. However, he trains physically and visually challenged women in self-defence. He is a certified paraglider now and also organises treks to different parts of the country.
Now 36 years old, Gowda is preparing himself to scale Mt Everest. He has completed the trek to its base camp in 2018. “I completed the Lobuche trek (20,000 ft) recently and am slowly acclimatising to do the Mt Everest climb,” he says.
Even today, when you Google the best kickboxer in India, his name is among the first to pop up. He says that he has learned a lot during his battle with cancer. “Before cancer, I was a hero. Cancer taught me that we are all the same and we can learn a lot from each other. It brought me closer to nature,” he says, adding that he’d like to convey to everyone not to give up and fight come what may.
