Meet dna's Winners in Life

After multiple rounds of selection and bringing forth heart-rending but inspiring stories of those who had battled and beaten the Big C, dna Winners in Life awards was held in a grand ceremony on Thursday evening.

Organised by dna in association with Cancer Patients Aids Association (CPAA), Indian Cooperative Oncology Network (ICON), and supported by PD Hinduja Hospital & Medical Research Centre, the event saw cancer survivors and doctors and nurses, who had been through the thick of it, being felicitated.

The event was chaired by actor Anupam Kher, who was the guest of honour, along with Dr Uday Nirgudkar, editor-in-chief of dna and Zee24Taas, YK Sapru, CPAA chairman, Gautam Khanna, CEO of Hinduja hospital, Joy Chokroborty, COO of Hinduja hospital, and Dr Purvish Parikh, executive director of ICON.

Kher said, "On an evening like this, all my achievements — 493 films, Padma Bhusan, and other awards — seem dwarfed. The courage patients and their families have shown is phenomenal." He also shared his family and younger brother's struggle with cancer.

"It was ironic... 12 years ago, Kiran (wife) called me in the morning and said I had received a Padmashri. At 12pm the same day, my brother Raju called up to tell me he has cancer. It was a roller-coaster ride of emotions in me after that. I was in shock for two days. He is the closest to me... Today, it's been 12 years since he beat the disease. As they usually say, actors remember visuals, I remember when he went for the surgery and was taken into the lift. I was nervous, but he gave me a thumbs up and smiled. That thing has become the victory sign for me; I was 100% sure, he'd come back and he did. That reminds me to always stay brave," he added.

Nirgudkar said, "Cancer has become such an epidemic, I was shocked to see that so many people could get it. I once asked in a newsroom 'how many people in their blood relation had been afflicted by it'. Nearly everyone raised their hands. This wasn't the case 20 years ago."

"Hope to fight this disease is almost nil in most cases. Either people don't believe they can get it, they believe the diagnosis must be wrong, or they surrender and think 'I'm going to die', unless someone holds their hand and tells them 'come, let's fight it together'. That's what we are trying to do here, bring about that change," he added.

The event started with a prayer anthem sung for the survivors.

Praising dna for the unique initiative, Khanna said, "I salute all cancer survivors as they have taken the disease head on." He added that cancer hits a patient and his family at all levels — physically, mentally and financially.

"Unlike earlier, the treatment is now faster, services are better; there are more doctors, nurses and cancer units available. It is not only physically challenging, but also emotionally, maritally and financially. Through this forum, I'd like to mention that cancer (treatment) is very expensive and the government must intervene and subsidise the medicines, so that no patient or his/her family gets 'financial cancer'. I would like to salute the survivors," said Khanna.

Chokroborty said, "I echo my CEO's views and thank all those involved with this initiative."

"I am so keen to see who has won the awards... I'd like to thank dna for the initiative. I haven't seen anything like this before. I'd also like to thank Hinduja hospital for its support," said Sapru.

Parikh said, "There are about 11 lakh new cancer patients each year. In the next couple of years, the number will be double. During my lifetime, I have seen a drastic increase in the survival rate of the disease — from 8% to 97%. ICON is working towards it too. It (cancer) be cured, if treated properly."

First, Dr Nirgudkar, Khanna, Bollywood actress Neetu Chandra and ghazal maestro Pankaj Udhaas felicitated winners in the doctor category — Drs JP Agarwal, Rajendra Bhalavat, Kumar Prabhash, Ramandeep Arora, Manish Agarwal, Sanjay Sharma, Raghunandharao Digumarti and Anantbhushan Anil Ranade.

Fourteen-year-old cancer survivor Sahara Shah, who had participated in Dance India Dance Season 4, then danced on a Bollywood number and was surprised by her mentor, Feroz Khan, who is a choreographer; he danced with her.

Feroz's mother had succumbed to the disease years ago. In her memory, he had decided to sponsor Sahara's dance education. Talking about the teenager, actor Vivek Oberoi said he met her when she was just six months old. "I got a call from Anita Peters, CPAA, while I was shooting for Saathiya. She asked me if I'd like to meet a young girl who was battling cancer at KEM hospital. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw her. She was a beautiful six-month-old, how could she get paediatric cancer, I thought. I decided that very minute that she needed to be saved, and here she is, becoming a fine young lady now," said an emotional Oberoi.

He added said that every cancer patient, every doctor, every nurse and other medical staff are winners in life. Oberoi along with Drs Ritu Jain, Bajpai, Kapadia and Nirgudkar felicitated three nurses for their contribution to cancer management — Capt Usha Banerjee, Mary George, Surbha Katam.

Kher, Dr Nirgudkar and Sapru later felicitated the six cancer survivors, who were selected from the 200 entries sent to dna by eminent jury members.

One of the six winners Dilip kumar Mevada said, "Cancer is not the end of the world, it is the beginning. Everything is possible if you follow your dreams... we are not fighters, we are eradicators."