Sydney-based Chandni found out about her pregnancy only a week after her breast cancer was detected; she desperately wanted this child but had to let this unborn baby go.
35-years-old Chandni Ravi is a mother of two children, eight-year-old Amrita, and two-year-old Abhinav. She is also a breast cancer battler, having undergone her first phase of chemotherapy and a double mastectomy.
But that moment when she had found a lump in her breast still sends a shiver down her spine.
“Around ten months ago, we were a normal family living a normal life in a very normal suburb in Sydney," she says.
"Things were going very well until that one fine day. We were holidaying in the Gold Coast with my children. On the last day of our vacation, while I was taking a bath, I found a lump in my breast. That was the twist to our life. Our whole life changed from that moment onwards,” recalls Chandni, whose mother is also a breast cancer survivor.
“I also dreaded this day as I had seen my mother battling with cancer.”
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Doctors confirmed Chandni's worst fear.
“The radiologist came back saying that I was carrying the triple negative breast cancer which is the most aggressive type of breast cancer with a lesser survival rate,” she says.
She says the news tore her into pieces. “I could not take that news very well at all. I cried, I screamed because I could not accept the news. I asked, why me at such a young age?”
But the worst was yet to come.
“Two days later we found that I was pregnant with our third child. My children wanted to have more siblings. But sadly I could not continue the pregnancy. I had to start my treatment. For that, I had to let go our third unborn child the very next week.”
Chandni says she feels fortunate to be in Australia where she says the best treatment is available.
“However, it was the most challenging part of my life. I lost my hair. I became a chronic patient with arthritis, digestive disorders and many side effects. Towards the end, I went for a double mastectomy.”
The most challenging part for Chandni was to comfort her 7-year-old daughter.
“When my mother had breast cancer I was 18, and I know how hard it is for a child to take such massive news. My daughter became one of my carers at the age of 10. I know exactly the feelings, as I had gone through the same path years ago," Chandri tell SBS Hindi.
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"I was anxious about my child. She was crying like anything. She thought that she was going to lose her mother. That was a natural reaction. That time I comforted her and let her know that I was not going to die. I had to ensure her regularly that her mummy is going to be around.”
Chandni Ravi has met every challenge with confidence.
She has been sharing her experience on Facebook through a video blog and says she feels blessed with the support she has received from the Indian community.
