Saturday, 22 February 2020
Sunday, 9 February 2020
Inspiration for the Ailing - 'I Inspire' Book Review
The nurses told her, 'It's a miracle, ma'am. His body is responding so well to chemotherapy ever since you met him. Please, ma'am, meet some more patients. They see you and realise that one can laugh as loudly and eat as wholeheartedly even after facing cancer!' Neerja would go with the nurses to wherever they took her, and offered the one thing they needed most at that time: hope." That's the brief and remarkable story of Neerja Malik that is captured faithfully in this book by Megha Bajaj.
Neerja, who is a cancer survivor twice over, has been literally giving life to cancer patients for 17 years by demonstrating her faith and enthusiasm for life. She began counselling cancer patients at Apollo Hospital. where she was first diagnosed. Today, the hospital runs a support group led by Neerja. In an interview for an article, Neerja says her mission in life is to "Bring a smile to the faces of the ailing. I am on my phone all day, taking patients through diagnosis and chemotherapy. If I can get a smile out of a person who wants to curl up and die; if at the end of it, he or she is ready to face the treatment, what more can I ask for?"
The structure of the book is interesting. It is in the form of a treasure hunt, which explains the sub-title. The chapters flow as a series of narrations about Neerja's life in the present, highlighting episodes of her miraculous interactions with people who are battling with cancer in various stages. However, each episode has a flashback section where Neerja recollects incidents from her past life. The first one dates back to her childhood days, and her conversations with her grandmother, who tells her that she will discover ten treasures as she grows up. In the subsequent chapters, she gets in touch with the "treasures" one by one. These are insights, or flashes of understanding that Neerja assimilates as she evolves, and each of these helps her face new challenges with courage and wisdom.
For anyone who is dealing with cancer, or just facing a tough situation, this book is a powerful source of inspiration. It reassures those who may feel hopeless or dejected or fearful, and it may give them a renewed sense of meaning as they face many challenges and look for role models or just someone who has been through it all.
- TA Balasubramaniam
How an Attitude of Gratitude can Turn Your Life Around
The act of being grateful has been drilled into Indians much before motivational posters and Live Love Laugh throw pillows came around. The one response we can bet on, when recounting any sort of trauma, is advice to be strong and thankful it wasn’t worse. All around us, we are bombarded with stories of everyday people showing courage and gratitude, and encouraging others to do the same.
Cancer conqueror Neerja Malik designed her life around this. “When I first got the diagnosis, I went into auto-pilot mode. It hit me only after we reached home, and my husband had to cancel lunch with our friends,” says Neerja. That was 1998. Since then, she has had another bout of cancer, conquered both, written two books and counselled several others — some from the recovery room of a hospital. Throughout, she has remained optimistic, with only kind words for what life brought to her.
“I am grateful that God planned my life in a way that I was equipped to handle. I have experienced broken bones, miscarriages and cancer, but I was also blessed with strong parents, two children — my reason for survival — a good education and a gift of the gab that helps me help others in the same boat,” she says.
What we instinctively feel, and what most of our religions teach us — that there is good in being grateful — has backing in science. “Gratitude generates feel-good emotions which are essential for brain health and well-being,” says Kolkata-based psychologist Mansi Poddar.
She quotes a 2003 study, Counting Blessings vs Burdens that required patients to keep a gratitude journal: “Sixteen per cent of the subjects reported reduced symptoms, and 10% of subjects reported a decrease in pain. It also showed that subjects were more willing to exercise, and were far more motivated in their recovery.”
Similar studies in people with hypertension revealed that expressing gratitude showed a significant decrease in their systolic blood pressure.
It is no wonder that Gratitude worked magic for Neerja too.
- An article in Hindu by Sweta Akundi on December 2, 2019.
Tuesday, 4 February 2020
Neerja Malik Speaks to ALL Ladies League on World Cancer Day
#4thFeb2020...
#WorldCancerDay...
#AllLadiesLeague...
ALL Chennai Chapter...
ALL Tamil Nadu Chapter...
Deepest Gratitude to The Universe and to my Beloved Soul Sisters for the wonderful interactive session we had on the 4th, to celebrate World Cancer Day...
Special thanks to Sakina Ansari for believing in me and making it possible at such short notice, to Sheetal Satish for gifting me her wonderfully warm and inviting space, #MyStudio34 and to ALL the lovely ladies who made it a point to be present with me that day...
My beloved friends, I, Neerja Malik, a Cancer Conqueror, Counsellor and Inspirational Speaker for the last 22+ years have also authored a book titled "I Inspire" and my contribution to the campaign theme "I Am and I Will" has been, is and always will be, my personal commitment as an individual to take action that will impact the future,
I AM
UNSTOPPABLE
AND I WILL
FIGHT FOR A
CANCER-FREE
WORLD
God is Great...
Monday, 3 February 2020
Sunday, 2 February 2020
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