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How cancer changed the life of this Dubai resident

Imagine the trauma of someone who never or rarely been sick in life to being told that she had cancer in its fourth stage.

Miracles happen. Prayers do get answered and circumstances change. And Rasheda Khatun Khan swears by these. From being a high-flying banker to now becoming a financial insurance specialist (who helps people plan their finances), life planner and kinesiology practitioner (the study of the mechanics of body movements), cancer changed every rule by which she once lived.

Imagine the trauma of someone who'd never or rarely been sick (never even had cold or flu before) in life to being told that she had cancer and that too in its fourth stage. "I was told that I had Hodgkin's lymphoma which is a cancer of the lymphatic system, a part of the immune system. Doctors told me that I had only six months to live."

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UK national and Dubai resident, Rasheda was 26-years-old and was flourishing as a successful banker in Dubai when she started experiencing slight pain in her left rib cage that grew into a strange recurring and irritating pain. After being misdiagnosed for almost a year, she went back to the UK for a complete check-up and was told she had cancer, which had progressed on to stage 4.

"I could not believe it. I thought they must have made a mistake. My first concern was that how my family will cope with my death. When I broke the news to my family - parents and six siblings who live in the UK- the whole house went into a state of mourning. The day I was diagnosed, they behaved as if I had died. They were wailing and crying.

"And precisely then I decided that 'okay, I may die soon but for now (present) I am alive'. I decided that I would not accept people condemning me to death today because I feel well and good right now, and if tomorrow I have to die, then I have to die. I strongly believe that when it is your time to go, you will go, and you can't change that."

Rasheda's family began praying fervently. After three months of chemotherapy, when the doctors checked Rasheda to see how the cancer was progressing, they told her the cancer had started to recede. "They told me that I may live a bit longer than what they had predicted before. But they were sure I was going to die as by that time I had two lumps in my left arm, one in my neck, one in my lung and had spread to my bone marrow. It was all up in my spine and my rib cage and also on my skull. The cancer had spread from my lymphs to my bones."

And then the miracle happened. "After six months when they checked again, I was told that the cancer had completely gone!

"All I wanted in life was to get married and have kids but due to this disease and its treatment, the doctors had told me that I may never be able to have kids. But today I'm married and have a seven-week-old son Abyaan!

"It was only and only prayers that worked for me. You can have your own version of prayer or mediation but when you pray (focus or meditate), your body becomes still and it is in those moments that of complete stillness that your body gets cured."

What cancer made me realise

Before cancer, success for Rasheda meant "achieving things" - good job, fame and securing a high position. "I thought life is all about success and achievement. But when I saw death at such close quarters, I realised that it's not the 'things' that create life but the happy moments that you have lived come back to you.

"Today I can say that cancer has been the biggest gift of my life. People think these diseases come to take away your life but I believe and now know that these diseases come to give life. You realise smaller things that matter - relationships with our parents, siblings, friends. We care but we don't show it very well, we just assume that they know."

After recovering from cancer, Rasheda opened a charity foundation in the UK and named it "Celebration of Life" in 2008 where she raises fund for health aid as well as education aid for the needy around the world.

"I wanted to contribute back. We should celebrate our lives and not wait until our death. Celebrate with the things that you have today".

The survival story

Rasheda Khatun Khan was a flourishing banker at 26, when she was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer of the lymphatic system.

Doctors told her that she won't survive for more than six months.

However, after three months of chemotherapy and prayers, the cancer started to recede. And after six months, the cancer was completely gone.

Now, Rasheda is married and is mother of a seven-week-old child. She is running a charity foundation in the UK, where she raises fund for health and education aid.

Meet the real "Heroes of Cancer"

The combination of pain, frustration and determination can be very powerful in pushing people to seek and create impactful solutions. Cancer is an overwhelming and insidious ordeal that many are increasingly subjected to in our region.

In 2010 Fariha Khan's dad was diagnosed with Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. "My dad was brave and passed away after an eight-month battle with cancer. It was a struggle not only financially but also mentally and emotionally and we needed lot of info related to the best treatment options and on staying healthy and being strong. I felt there was a strong need for an online presence that was not around at that moment in terms of cancer support groups. That's why four years later when I got a chance I got together with a few of my friends to try and solve this problem and 'Heroes of Cancer' group was formed."

The group is an online cancer community where you share and learn from one another. It is an online platform to connect and empower cancer patients, survivors and caregivers in the UAE. #TogetherWeCan

The four other cofounders of the team are Ashiqur Rahman, Arshia Yadav, Abdulbasit Abubakr and Ananya Yadav. Each of them has been a witness to the rapid decline of a close family member due to cancer and they understand the uphill battle that the patient and the families have to endure emotionally, physically and psychologically.

Arshia and Ananya Yadav lost their paternal grandfather to brain cancer. Ashiqur Rahman lost his aunt to breast cancer. The team decided that they were not going to just move on with their lives and do nothing about the upheaval caused due to this disease.

They developed an app that was focused on re-enforcing a positive mindset within patients, survivors and caregivers of cancer. They entered the globally reputed Microsoft Imagine Cup competition and developed their first mobile app where a cancer patient or survivor could sign up and share their experiences.

At the competition, Heroes came third and was recognised as one of the Top 10 tech youth projects at the Gitex Student Lab. They have also received "The Young Achievers of the Year" award at the Arabian Business Achievement Awards 2014.

The team is now reshaping the startup to better address the issue at hand. With the new version of Heroes of Cancer, the mission is to connect and empower cancer patients, survivors, and caregivers through an interactive digital platform.

saman@khaleejtimes.com