Cancer! It is a scary word even to read or hear. How would a cancer survivor feel having lived through this nightmare? Dr. Sonia Basu was kind enough to share her journey with Hatke Story. She takes us through different perspectives of being a doctor, woman, and, most importantly, a cancer survivor.
Sonia Basu’s Early Life
Born and brought up in Port Blair, Andaman, and the Nicobar Islands, most of Sonia Basu’s education was from the same city. Recalling when she had to choose her career, Sonia says there were only two popular things then – Medicine and Engineering. She chose the former and went on to be called Dr. Sonia. She had only stepped out of her hometown to pursue medical education. Sonia went to a good medical college in Dhule, Maharashtra.
Life was pretty typical for Sonia Basu until cancer struck her. She finished her MBBS and took up a job at a hospital in Pune in 2002, where she lived after marriage. Sonia had a baby boy in 2004, and she was juggling motherhood and work responsibilities simultaneously. She is a true representative of modern-day working mothers. They are juggling too many things at a time but manage everything perfectly.
Sonia decided to go back to academics and pursue her post-graduation- something she always wanted to do. She took up a PG Diploma in Hospital Administration from Apollo while managing her clinical practice. It was an online course with a minimal 15-20 day hospital time. It seemed convenient to the new mommy. When her son had grown up a little, Sonia Basu took up a job in the hospital management field and started enjoying it. Her liking for this field of work compelled her to go for an MBA in Hospital Care from Symbiosis.
A Fulfilling Career
While treating a patient is excellent, Sonia realizes that the management side of the work is equally important. It is what smoothens the process for all the stakeholders of the healthcare sector. Sonia worked in a corporate hospital in Pune, and five years later, she was the head of Marketing, Sales, and Business Development in a different hospital. In the process of managing hospitals, Sonia had an enlightening revelation.
She realized that only 10-12% of the population in India has health insurance. The rest of them are going from pillar to post to meet hospitalization expenses. The financial drain compels most of them to withdraw consent halfway through the process. They are settling for a lower quality treatment because of the lack of money.
A People-Friendly Business Idea
All those who visit a hospital do not get admitted. Only 10% of them require hospitalization. Opt-outs in this 10% is a disadvantage to the hospital too. So, it is not a happy situation for either of the stakeholders. Sonia Basu wanted to find a workable solution to this problem. She wondered why there was no medical loan in India. Sonia didn’t waste time in thoughts very long. She got in touch with her friend, a former banker, and tried to understand the situation better.
Her friend threw light on how the trend is with loans. 30-40% of people use their loans for healthcare purposes. When this facility is already available, why would anyone put up an extra service? Another area of concern is – who is eligible for a medical loan? How will a patient repay this loan? What happens when a patient passes away while receiving treatment?
Sonia, along with her friend, set out to find answers to these questions. In exploring, Sonia found that there were very few such service providers like Arogya Finance. Their existence was so unnoticed that people could not reap the benefit. As a solution, Sonia and her friend collaborated with banks at one hand and hospitals at another. They aimed to be a connecting point between the two and make things easy for the patients. The idea was to help patients secure a health loan with a low interest within an hour. They were a mediator agent only. The initial glitches came in the form of delays in loan approvals.
Disappointed by this, Sonia Basu and her friend took things up themselves in 2016. Sonia and her friend founded HealthFin. They came up with a solution where a PAN card and an Adhaar card are sufficient to secure a loan of one lakh rupees. Anything more than a lakh will require salary statements. By 2018 they were funded by two venture capital companies. In a year, they expanded to many major cities of India like Chennai, Bangalore, Hyderabad, Mumbai, and others. Today, Sonia’s company also provides equipment finance to new doctors who wish to provide healthcare services.
Dealing With Loss And Cancer
Cancer entered Sonia’s life in 2018 when her father was diagnosed with Lung Cancer. The rapport she shared with her father caused Sonia great shock after knowing the diagnosis. The crippling disease struck her emotional support and pillar of strength. The disease was spreading fast, and her father could not be counted as a cancer survivor. He lost the battle against the disease. Before she could come to terms with the loss of her dearest daddy, Sonia had another crisis awaiting her. In May 2019, Sonia Basu was diagnosed with breast cancer. Life seemed to be falling apart, but this brave cancer survivor refused to give up.
Although diagnosed at an early stage, Sonia’s was an aggressive type of cancer. She is a doctor, so the early diagnosis was easier for Sonia. However, the surgery, radiation, and chemotherapy took a toll on her. She couldn’t work the way she did. The hair loss and the weight gain changed the way she looked. Sonia couldn’t support her son, who was appearing for his 10th board exam that same year.
However, Sonia, the brave cancer survivor, emerged victorious in this battle after a painful period. She endured all the pain, shattered confidence, and physical limitation that the growth factor injection gave her. In December 2019, Sonia Basu was declared cancer-free after eight chemotherapy sessions and 20 sittings radiation. It took a good 6-8 months to create a strong cancer survivor.
Cancer Survivor’s Advice
Sonia recommends regular health checkups after her own experience as a cancer survivor and even as a doctor. She urges people to be conscious of any changes in their bodies and get them checked at the earliest. Speaking in this context, Sonia told Hatke’s Story about a relative who lost her life just sometime after diagnosis. It is a warning to all of us to treat our body with the care it deserves.
Sonia gives us a perspective of the caregiver of a cancer survivor too. They are in a situation where they have to watch the patient struggle with cancer and stand by helplessly. As a caregiver to her father, Sonia says the struggle is painful or even more for the family.
A Cancer Survivor To Patients
Sonia decided to participate in a beauty pageant called Ms. and Mrs. Pune Pride as a diversion from routine. It was where she met many inspiring people and heard their motivational stories. This event gave Sonia a heartwarming idea. She wanted to bring every cancer survivor under a single roof and speak about their battle with cancer patients. She immediately met Sahil, the organizer of the beauty pageant, and shared her idea. Sahil agreed, and together they got the ball rolling.
Sonia wishes to instill confidence in cancer patients that they can get through it like many others. It is her way of telling the fighters of cancer that they are not alone. It, however, is not the only motive behind Sonia’s idea of the beauty pageant. She hopes to raise money to help poor patients with their cancer treatment.
Despite the limitations imposed by the pandemic, Sonia and Sahil stuck to the plan with optimism. They managed to secure a good amount of money. Contrary to their expectation, a lot of people came forward to donate to the cause. Generous friends and relatives from across the globe came forward. Facebook indeed has a good outreach. Selling the tickets for the event also added to the donation amount.
Sonia contacted the Mercedes company, who agreed to give her 10-12 cars to pick up and drop the attendees. Seven days away from the event, this cancer survivor is super excited to put smiles on many faces. Fifteen people will walk the ramp at this event, and their families will be part of the audience. The event will be recorded and sent to the patients dealing with cancer.
Sonia Basu’s journey is a lesson for all of us to deal with life’s unpredictability with a smiling face.
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