Subba Rao – Hyderabad, 2011
A big hello to all the readers from Subba Rao, Hyderabad
Professionally and personally my life was going on smoothly, till the bubble burst in August 2007.
I am 30 years old and I will be completing nearly three years of CML journey, filled with varied thoughts. I am the only son of my parents. My family suffered a major setback when I lost my mother in 2003. I started a new life in 2004 when I got married and also acquired a good job in a software company.
On 1st September 2007, I was down with fever which nearly lasted for four days. I lost nearly 10 kilos. It was the day of biggest of biggest cricket matches of the century – India vs Pakistan 20-20 finals. I was enjoying the match in spite of suffering from high fever. My family doctor suggested for multiple blood tests. From that day onwards , I must have gone through hundreds of blood tests till date. Now, I am used to them :-).
Finally, without disclosing anything to me, my family doctor asked me to consult Dr. S. V. S. S Prasad at Apollo Hospital, Hyderabad. I went there with my wife and father. Apollo Cancer wing has two entrances, and we went in to that from the rear entrance, not really knowing where exactly we were supposed to go. We had to wait for the doctor for about three hours. So, to pass some time, we went into the lawns of Apollo to enjoy the freshness. It was from there, we saw the main entrance of the wing, which read “Apollo Cancer Hospital”. It came as a big shock to us. My wife started crying not knowing what the doctor would say. It was very tough to control and console my father and wife.
Finally, we met Dr. Prasad who was very kind and patient while disclosing the diagnosis. He explained to us the cause of the disease. When I was diagnosed, my TLC count was 2.3 lacs. I started my journey with Hydrea with high dosage of six tablets a day. Within two weeks, of registration with Max Foundation for assistance , I got my first dosage of Glivec from Novartis. Initially, it was a very tough journey because of the side effects.
It took me nearly one month to get used to the medicine. However, till date I am doing great. Within a year I attained CCR. (Complete Cytogenetic Remission ) Recently my wife and I were blessed with a baby Girl (Neha) on 29th January 2011. She is a very active baby and now I see new hope in my life. In my professional life, I have been promoted as Project lead and I am presently enjoying the fruits of success in life – all credit goes to Glivec. I am very thankful, to Novartis & Friends of Max for all the support. My office (Olive Technologies) management has been very caring and understanding towards me throughout my diagnosis and the subsequent physical challenges (due to side-effects). My family and Sailaja garu (also a friend of Max in Hyderabad) have also been very supportive. It was only because of their support and guidance that I have been able to find the strength to fight with this disease.
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