Akhil must have defeated cancer, but he is now fighting another battle - to return to normal life. The Changanassery native is being denied a job anywhere he applies citing the disease he has survived.
All of Akhil’s applications for a job are rejected. “Employers feel that there is no complete cure for cancer and hence they are not hiring me,” he says.
The young mechanical engineering graduate’s problems started two years ago when he had a back pain. But cancer was not diagnosed at that time. Doctors first told Akhil that it was an ordinary back pain.
When medicines failed to reduce the pain, doctors advised Akhil to stop playing cricket which they said was the cause.
When the pain became unbearable, Akhil was shifted to another hospital. Considering his symptoms, biopsy was advised. The result showed that lymphoma was in its third stage.
Akhil decided to go ahead with the treatment. His friends supported him. His closest relatives heard about the developments only after the first round of chemotherapy and surgery were done.
The young man faced the challenge with confidence. He suffered hair loss after the second chemotherapy. The remaining hair was shaved off.
When those close to him showed sympathy, Akhil kept smiling. “The years 2016 to 2018 were the most difficult in my life. I experienced first hand chemotherapy and its difficulties, about which I had only heard of earlier,” he says.
His hair and eyebrows were gone and having food was extremely painful due to ulcers in the mouth.
“My relatives and friends gave the confidence to continue the fight,” he says.
Doctors call people who have survived cancer as ‘Cancer winners’.
But Akhil says the life after defeating cancer is more difficult than combating the disease. “Even after complete recovery, many people still consider me as a cancer patient. When I tried for a job, I met with denials and rejection. Proposals for marriage for my sister are reaching nowhere citing the disease that I once suffered from,” he elaborates.
Not losing hope even after so many setbacks, Akhil is still looking for a job. “Society’s attitude towards cancer patients should undergo a major change,” he says.
