It has been a tough last few years for Devna and Navdeep Nagpal.
The Melbourne-based couple has been through the ups and downs of life at an unbelievable pace with Devna first being struck by cancer at the age of 34 and then, just when she had kicked it out of her system, her husband was diagnosed with kidney cancer.
“We have had some really trying times,” Navdeep tells SBS Hindi, just after returning from some medical tests.
The Nagpal family had just returned from a holiday in New Zealand in 2013 when Devna first felt the lump in her breast.
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“We had just come back from a holiday of our life when I first felt it. My fears were confirmed when the doctors said it,” Devna says.
She shares she had a tough time finding answers.
“I couldn’t believe it was happening to me. I was 34. I kept thinking, why me?” she recalls.
“I had two young boys. My younger one was merely three years old when I was undergoing chemotherapy. I couldn’t go near my kids for three days after my chemo-sessions. I couldn’t touch them, cuddle them. It was very tough,” she says.
Devna had two unsuccessful surgeries before she finally chose to have a mastectomy.
“I was determined to fight it out. I had a beautiful family to live for – my husband and my two sons,” Devna says.
Her long battle with cancer finally came to end in December 2014.
But it wasn’t long before her husband Navdeep was diagnosed with cancer.
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“After Devna got better, we bought a new house and went on a holiday but after we returned I had this terrible pain.
“After what Devna had gone through, I did not want to take a chance and went for an ultrasound.
“The doctors said there was a tumour developing on my kidney,” Navdeep says.
Navdeep underwent a successful ‘robotic’ surgery in Melbourne in early 2017 but again faced complications a few months later.
“He had a severe bout of diarrhoea in August 2017 when he lost 25 kilos in 6 weeks,” Devna says.
The couple has consulted specialists across India, UK and US while Navdeep continues his fight against cancer.
He has taken time off work to look after himself while Devna has resumed full-time work as an analyst in a consulting firm in Melbourne.
Their two children – two boys, now aged 11 and 8, have witnessed their parents’ fight against cancer since a very young age.
“I feel they have grown up too fast. They have always seen one of their parent's sick. It pains me but I guess it will make them more resilient,” Devna says.
The couple says while family came in from India to help out during these years, they have also received tremendous support from the community in Melbourne.
“There have been times when they have made us meals, paid our bills and made us part of their celebrations. We are very grateful to our neighbours and our community here who have helped us,” Navdeep says.
The couple together is sponsoring a local Under-9 kids soccer team with Knox Football Club.
