Ten Years of Fight With Cancer – Mamta Mohandas

Cancer is one of the deadliest diseases known to humans. It can affect various areas of our body and spread silently. Millions have succumbed to it, but millions have fought and survived it too. On this World Cancer Day, let us look into the story of the south Indian actress Mamta Mohandas, who has finally won against cancer. 

It was the year 2009 when actress Mamta Mohandas was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of cancer that affects the body’s lymph nodes. She had been at the peak of her career in the Malayalam movie industry and this sudden misfortune put a pause in her career. She began her 7-year-long battle with cancer. It all became worse in 2013. Following a failed bone-marrow transplant Mamta had a relapse of cancer.

However, Mamta, with a brave heart, refused to give up. She moved to the US in 2016 and continued her treatment.  She was one of the first to be part of a clinical trial for FDA approved drug called nivolumab (Opdivo) for the treatment of patients with classical Hodgkin lymphoma. The treatment continued successfully.

Last year on World Cancer Day she opened up on Instagram about her ten-year-long battle with cancer. She has written:

“Last 10 years have been quite a challenge and as I look back come 2019, I’m proud to realize that I have fought tirelessly, stayed strong and survived. Staying positive and strong for several years is very hard but if I have done it, there are a few people behind it.”

She has thanked her parents, cousins and friends who have always been there for her throughout the battle. Today, she has returned to the cinema world after winning against cancer. The belief that ‘having a positive outlook beats everything’ made Mamta fight and win against this deadly disease.

 –Poorna Krishnan