Page 37 - ACCF - Stories of Resilience

even encountered many such situations which may thrill and resist a person from working in the
field of diverse communities and religion. This reminds me of a person name Minoti, who was a
breast suspect. She was from a tea tribe community and an introvert. She lived in a village near the
bank of river with her only child. She was the sole breadwinner of her family. She worked as a daily
wager with a bare minimum living standard. I came to know about her from an ASHA worker who
came up to me speaking about the condition of Minoti. I visited Minoti at her residence with my
team to have an interaction so that we could learn about her situation and make her aware about
her health. Initially she refused to meet us despite being standing at her doorstep. Then after a lot of
requesting and consoling, she came out of her home. But it was unfortunate that she turned out to be
rude after just fifteen minutes of interaction. The situation in no time turned out to be risky as she
started threatening us and called her neighbours to create a scene. We were asked to leave the place,
else the situation would have worsened. This happened all because we made her know about her
situation, the signs and symptoms her breast was showing which in turn may have leaded to cancer
in near future. We somehow could not make her understand as she was rolled up with the knowledge
shared by the common people and the community quacks.
After that, we had to leave the place with fear and despair in mind and an issue to be discussed. This
kind of situation is very common in remote areas of diverse communities as people are still unaware
of the fact that cancer can be cured if detected early and it’s no harm if we talk about it and discuss the
ways to prevent it.
Each patient has taught me something new about the human spirit - its capacity for love, hope,
and healing along with superstition and lack of awareness. I have learned that my role is not just to
provide medical care but also to offer emotional support, guidance, and compassion. There arises the
importance of awareness campaigns and focus group discussions which I believe are the best ways

ASSAM CANCER CARE FOUNDATION 37