Bengaluru-based businessman Mohammed Awwab Sait was enjoying fatherhood for the first time when life threw him a curveball. It was October 2016 and he found out he had stage four lymphoma. Sait was 28 then.
There was no family history of cancer. He didn’t know what to tell his wife or family. “I went blank and speechless,” says Sait. “I sat with a still face, looking at the doctor who had all my reports in his hand. I did not know how to tell my parents, family and my wife. But I decided not to give up and fight it.”
Cancer diagnosis
Earlier, while undergoing treatment for varicose veins, Sait had developed a cough which did not go away even after medication. He developed night chills, lost 20kg in three months and became so weak he could not even walk.
Confused by the rapid weight loss, he visited multiple doctors. One doctor suggested scans and a complete blood test. The results indicated high levels of white blood cells and swelling or enlarged lymph nodes in three areas: neck, armpit and the groin.
He then went to a private cancer centre in Bengaluru to get a PET scan to check if it was an infection or cancer. The reports confirmed Sait had stage 4 lymphoma — and the doctors gave him a 50% chance of survival.
He kept this information to himself for three months until he figured out how to go ahead with the treatment. “I visited multiple hospitals and consulted doctors in different cities,” he says. “I finally decided to go ahead with Dr Ashish Dixit, a senior oncologist from Bengaluru.”
Treatment of cancer with chemotherapy
The biggest fear for Sait was the treatment protocols and how his body would respond to chemotherapy.
But his family was the first ‘cure’. They stood by him throughout the treatment journey, which lasted about two years.
“I was going through chemotherapy once every two weeks,” he says. “I had to stay indoors for one-and-a-half years until my treatment was completed. My family kept people away from me and did not allow visitors as my immune system was weak. I could get infections easily and small problems could become big complications.”
The first months of treatment were tough. “I was weak, I was continuously losing weight and I had hair loss,” he says. “After each chemo session, I would be left without energy for any task.”
But two months of treatment gave Sait some hope. “I was responding positively to the treatment as my condition was improving,” he says. “A couple of lymph nodes reduced in size, the swelling in my liver and thymus went down. My cough almost disappeared. After looking at the improvements, I got confidence that I could overcome it, [that] I could fight lymphoma cancer and go back to my normal life.”
The body has to be in good condition for chemotherapy. But since Sait was being given strong medication intravenously, any infection that he contracted (like the common cold) would lead to a postponement in the chemotherapy. As a result of infections his treatment got extended to 10 months.
Recovery from cancer
After a year of treatment, Sait’s condition started improving. But it was still a long way before he could return to his normal life. “I got better after treatment, but I was weak,” he says. “By 2018, I had no symptoms of lymphoma cancer and I had overcome the battle against it. However, getting back to routine tasks took six months or so.”
After returning to his regular routine, he had to go for follow-ups every three months for the next three years. He says he still needs to be careful with infections since his immune system is weaker now.
Sait is leading a happy life now — and became a father for the second time in 2019.
“Being strong, having a supportive family and being confident helped me fight my battle against cancer,” he says. “Staying positive and believing in yourself can help you overcome any health condition.”
