Cancer effects everyone differently. I have seen patients,some so positive yet others so negative. In a country where we still have care givers who do not want the patient to know the diagnosis and hide the truth from them, I wonder how do these patients cope. Who do they turn to? Who is protecting whom? Everyone person is entailed to the truth. I try to be truthful(as i am allowed) with my patients.
A young educated cancer patient working with a MNC was in tears post surgery. On further inquiry I realized she was scared to go back to work. She was actually worried if her colleagues/friends would treat her right, would they shun her. If we have barriers like such in the shining India, how do patients in rural areas manage. We have to remove the stigma associated with cancer.
Breast Cancer Care and Support 
India is a Multi- cultural, pluralistic country and there are so many amazing ways in which people cope with cancer. I am a survivor of breast cancer since the last five years , but I would like to consider myself more than just a survivor but a”victor”. I have been working closely with women diagnosed with the disease ever since I won over it. I have hundreds of stories of Hope and despair. One very common fact in all of them is that stigmas and barriers exist across all sections of society: educated and uneducated, among all religious diversities, rich and poor . The one important aspect of my counselling them involves giving them the courage to accept and face up and deal with all kinds of barriers and painful stigmas and insinuations. I find that it helps them greatly.