Nikita’s twin sister, Neha breaks down every time she sees her in this condition. She is like a mirror to her and she fears that if she goes in front of Nikita it will remind her of all the hair she has lost, and make her upset about it. She cannot see her twin suffer and cry in pain like this. Nikita has cancer - she needs continued chemotherapy and surgery.
At 15, Nikita got diagnosed with a rare type of malignant tumour - synovial sarcoma. It is a form of cancer which occurs primarily in the extremities of the arms or legs. A delayed treatment has caused the tumour to grow in size.
During our 10th standard Madhyamik board exams, she started having high fever and used to keep coughing with severe chest pain. It used to get so bad that while writing her papers she had to rush to the washroom to control her cough. But since the exams were going on, she just wanted to study hard and get good marks. She focused on her exams even when her body was not letting her focus. Mummy-papa kept begging her to let them take her to a doctor but she kept delaying. She wishes now that she hadn’t done that," - Neha, sister.
“All those numbing sensations and uneasiness around her chest and shoulder area was not due to her heavy school bag but due to this cancerous tumour. On our way back home after the diagnosis every terrifying thought crossed my mind... Will this tumour take away my little girl's life?" - Ranika, mother