Cancer survivor goes the distance for patients

COIMBATORE: Samuel Chettiar, 37, is a cancer survivor who has flown down from Mumbai to participate in the Vodafone Marathon on Sunday.
His aim is to inspire patients to believe that there is life after cancer. The man, who works with Schneider Electrics, spends much of his free time counselling cancer patients in Mumbai telling them about his story and road to recovery.
His situation was very different six years ago. "I spent my first wedding anniversary in the hospital undergoing chemotherapy," says Chettiar. He received tremendous support from his wife and also other patients in a similar situation.
Chettiar was diagnosed with stage four Hodgkin's Lymphoma just months after he got married in 2008. "A lump had formed on one of my lymph nodes just below my ear. I never noticed it I kept treating the resulting chronic cold and cough symptomatically and my doctors too did not notice it for months," he said.
Chettiar underwent six cycles of chemotherapy. "I recovered completely," he added. However, as a result of the treatment and his sedentary lifestyle, he had put on weight. "I became heavy, my blood pressure and cholesterol levels also shot up," he added. The turning point came when he could not bend down to tie his shoe laces. "I was done with feeling sorry for myself. I decided to make the most of life, being given a second chance," he added. Within three months of a controlled diet and exercise, he lost 17kg. "I realized that I enjoyed being fit," he said.
He decided to take part in marathons to keep fit. He ran his first 10km marathon in Bangalore last year and then went on to run four half marathons and completed his first full 42km marathon in Paris this year.
Chettiar runs wearing a shirt that says "I've left cancer behind".