“Cancer doesn’t define you. It’s a battle that can be won with hope and determination,” says Harteij Bhartesh, a 32-year-old lawyer from Rewa, Madhya Pradesh, a cancer survivor, currently residing in Bengaluru. At just 23, Harteji was diagnosed with the disease. However, instead of letting it define him, he chose to fight with everything he had.

Today, he is a symbol of hope for anyone who feels like giving up. He serves as a reminder that no matter how tough life gets, with courage and support, we can push through even the hardest battles.

Harteij completed his schooling at Kendra Vidyalaya in his hometown before moving to Delhi for his law degree at Amity University. “While in my final semester of college in 2012, a swelling appeared on my neck. At first, I dismissed it as something minor, so I sought homoeopathic treatment, believing it would just subside. I went to the doctors, but they couldn’t detect what was wrong, and I turned to homoeopathy because I wanted to get rid of that swelling. For a year, I didn’t know I had cancer,” he tells The Better India.

However, as months passed and the swelling persisted, he consulted doctors again, but the diagnosis remained elusive. It wasn’t until mid-2013, when he visited his brother in Hyderabad, that the real diagnosis came.

Facing the harsh reality

“None of us anticipated cancer. But when we were faced with the diagnosis, we knew we had to approach it with clear minds and rational thinking,” the 32-year-old recalls. “After undergoing a biopsy, I was diagnosed with third-stage Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a rare blood cancer. Instead of succumbing to despair, I decided to face this battle head-on,” he adds.

His family, though devastated, hid their own emotions and stayed strong for him. “At that moment, it wasn’t about being afraid. I just wanted to get better as soon as possible,” he says.

“I remember my doctor telling me that the likely cause of my cancer was the food I was eating in hotels during my college days. They often reuse the same oil, and it’s carcinogenic. My oncologist explained this to me, and it made sense. I didn’t want to start chemotherapy immediately as I wanted to complete my studies,” he adds.

For a year, he followed homoeopathic treatment, but unfortunately, this approach only deteriorated his condition. “I was missing out on what should have been some of the most exciting years of my life, my prime time, and I didn’t know what would come next. After a year of trying alternative treatments, I realised........

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