'UPA 2.0 Brought Personal Challenges': Sonia Gandhi On Beating Cancer Twice

A year after surgery for breast cancer in 2010, another growth was detected in Congress leader Sonia Gandhi's pancreas during a follow-up test. 

Gandhi, who has never spoken about her medical conditions, shared some details about her diagnosis in her memoir, 'Belonging: A Journey Of Love', which hit the stands today. 

In the book, the former Congress chief said that the second UPA term brought with it personal challenges for her, in which her medical needs went beyond the occasional bouts of asthma, allergies and stomach troubles. 

"Our second UPA term brought me some personal challenges. Apart from occasional bouts of asthma and allergies, I'd had no serious health troubles until then. As my doctors pointed out, stress is one of the main causes of stomach disorders, and, sure enough, these became frequent and worsened as I grew older and got drawn into politics myself," she wrote. 

READ | "We Fell In Love With Him": Sonia Gandhi On 1st Son Who Died Just After Birth

Gandhi said that she was advised by doctors at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital to have an operation for suspected breast cancer in 2010 and that her "mind began to race to a possible scary outcome" after she was told there was no time to lose. 

Gandhi decided to skip the Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai for fear of the media invading her private space and went for surgery at the European Institute of Oncology outside Milan.

"I had always sought to keep my personal space private, and the thought of my illness being discussed in the media was painful to me, even infuriating. True, I had become a public figure, but did that mean I wasn't to be allowed even a modicum of privacy?" she said. 

READ | "He Tends To Look Away, Avoiding Eye Contact": Sonia Gandhi On PM Modi

Rahul, Priyanka, Robert Vadra, a senior officer and Gandhi's sisters, Nadia and Anouchka, accompanied her for the surgery under the guidance of celebrated surgeon Dr Umberto Veronesi. 

"On the day of the surgery, as I was wheeled into the operation theatre, Rahul and Priyanka held my hand and kissed me on the forehead, assuring me that all would be well. He (the doctor) had removed two tumours, including a non-suspicious one to be on the safe side, and conducted an intra-operative radiation to spare me five weeks of radiotherapy," Gandhi said. 

Second Cancer, A Year Later

Although the surgery was successful, the growth in her pancreas just a year later came as a shock to her and the children.

"We immediately thought it was a flare-up of the earlier problem. Following many consultations, my doctors felt that I needed immediate surgery. The tumour was initially suspected to be a neuroendocrine one: That would mean a long operation, and a prolonged hospital stay," she said. 

Gandhi was then treated by popular pancreatic surgeon Dr Casper van Fijck at the Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam. 

"I was agitated and worried about the operation in spite of everyone's reassurances, since the actual extent of the disease could only be determined after the surgery. My mind began to dwell on a worst-case scenario. What if it turned out to be a metastatic growth? Would I come through it?" Gandhi said. 

Following the surgery, Dr Fijck told her that she was lucky the tumour was detected early and was in a preliminary precancerous stage. 

Gandhi revealed that only former prime minister Manmohan Singh and a few senior colleagues knew of her leaving for this surgery.