World Cancer Day: Harjeet Kaur’s Story

World Cancer Day is on February 4th and is a day to spread awareness of cancer as a whole and to encourage its prevention, detection and treatment. This year, we had the pleasure of speaking with Harjeet Kaur, a stage 4 rare blood cancer survivor who, after her diagnosis, became a wonderful advocate for other cancer patients and caregivers. Her story is one that encompasses the confusion, fear, and ultimately willpower that comes along with a cancer diagnosis. We thank Harjeet for sharing her story with us and giving us insight into her incredible resilience.

CAN YOU SHARE A LITTLE BIT ABOUT YOUR PERSONAL JOURNEY WITH CANCER? WHEN WERE YOU DIAGNOSED AND WHAT EMOTIONS DID YOU EXPERIENCE AT THAT MOMENT?

Harjeet Kaur: My story has been interesting. I migrated to Canada in 2018 with high hopes of settling down, having a family and having a better career. But life had different plans for me and my world completely flipped upside down in 2019, when I started having high fevers which were ongoing for two and a half months. I went to the doctor but the only answers I really got was that it might be viral or a flu and to take Tylenol every 2 hours to cut down the fever. Along with fevers I started having rigour episodes daily. I went to the emergency room so many times, and had to wait for 6-8 hours to get answers and those times were really challenging for me. Finally, I was admitted to the University of Alberta hospital where I was treated as a research patient because no one knew what was going on with me. I had a couple of biopsies, surgeries and scans but there were no answers. It took them 3 months to diagnose me, and when I finally figured out what was going on it was August 27th, 2019. At that point I was going to move back to India to get some answers, but the doctor rushed in and told me I had stage four, rare blood cancer. I was 32 at the time and I had no idea that was. The doctor told me that they thought I should stay in Canada because I was stage 4 and had to start treatment right away. Listening to that news, my life completely stopped – I was in shock. My mom and brother were there with me, my husband had gone to see my family doctor to plan my move back to India, but then I called him and told him I had the diagnosis – I couldn’t tell him on the call that I had stage 4. After not having answers for a few months, to hear that I was stage four was really shocking. To get a late diagnosis at age 32 was something I never would have expected – it was a rollercoaster ride.

HOW LONG WERE YOU ABLE TO START TREATMENT AFTER YOU WERE FIRST DIAGNOSED?

Harjeet Kaur: They did a skin biopsy which finally showed the diagnosis after 3 months. As soon as I got the diagnosis in the afternoon, they wanted to admit me right away and start the treatment as I was losing time. But we asked them for a few hours to process the news. Since it was 3 months delayed, we wanted to connect with our family doctor and the medical team we were talking to in India and update them. So I actually ended up starting chemotherapy the next day.

WORLD CANCER DAY IS ABOUT RAISING AWARENESS AND TAKING ACTION. WHAT MESSAGE WOULD YOU LIKE TO CONVEY TO THOSE WHO MAY BE FACING A CANCER DIAGNOSIS FOR THE FIRST TIME?

Harjeet Kaur: As we all know, cancer is tough. Not only for the person, but also for the family. Going through the diagnosis, treatment during COVID (35 days of isolation) – all of it is tough. The number one thing I would tell someone who is facing a cancer diagnosis is to not lose hope. There are a lot of support groups and communities out there who can help. You can also ask for help from your friends and family. You don’t have to face this journey alone.

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Save Your Skin Foundation wishes to bring hope and support to all those touched by melanoma, non-melanoma skin cancers, or ocular melanoma – whether they are newly diagnosed, currently undergoing treatment, in remission or referred to as “NED” (no evidence of disease).

WE INVITE ALL SKIN CANCER PATIENTS, AT ANY STAGE, TO GET IN TOUCH.