Teenaged Mumbai cancer survivor tops engineering exam

u00a0For 19yearold Ashwini Prasad life turned upside down when doctors informed told her last October that she had stageII Hodgkinrsquos Lymphoma a cancer of lymph tissues found in the chest spleen and liver lymph nodes But after initially going into shock the gritty girl fought back Prasad who lives in Powai with her parents sat for her secondyear engineering exams all through May while enduring painful chemotherapy sessions They say fortune favours the brave and in case of Prasad it genuinely did Last week the exam results showed she has scored 55 per cent in her second tests Ashwini says her big challenge was to convince the doctors and her parents to allow her to sit for the exams Even while she was diagnosed with stageII Hodgkinrsquos Lymphoma Ashwini Prasad was determined to appear for her secondyear engineering exams in May Recalling the sequence of events Prasad says she was diagnosed with Hodgkinrsquos lymphoma when she consulted a doctor after experiencing high fever weight loss and extreme weakness ldquoIt came as a shock when I was diagnosed with cancer The toughest part was to deal with hair and weight loss which I feared would jeopardise my studiesrdquo she told SUNDAY MiD DAY Then her fightback began ldquoI underwent intensive chemotherapy for the next six months due to which I missed four months of college and eventually my practical examsrdquo she recalls However the illness did not deter her So when her college informed her that they would allow her to sit for the third and fourth semester exams together in May as a special case she grabbed the opportunity ldquoMy family and doctors were worried but supportive of my decision I studied in the hospital while undergoing chemotherapyrdquo says Ashwini However preparing for two semesters at one go was not her only challenge As her college is in Lonavala she was forced to make daily trips to the city for her radiation sessions in between exams Prasad says her day would start at six am when she would wake up to prepare for her exams that started from 10 am And soon after exams got over at one pm she took the college bus to Powairsquos Hiranandani hospital where she was undergoing treatment ldquoIt would take me two hours to reach the city after my exams and my sessions would last for another two hoursrdquo said Ashwini The engineering student made it a point to study for at least six hours a day to catch up on all the lost time while she was admitted in the hospital To make matters worse she was admitted to the hospital for four days just before her exams due to a severe chest infection ldquoThough I was weak I caught up with some much needed rest during the three days break I had in between each examrdquo she added Ashwinirsquos efforts and determination paid off when her results were finally declared on July 27 She secured 55 per cent in her second year and has now resumed her studies full time after recovering fully Speaking to SUNDAY MiD DAY Dr Ashish Bakshi consultant medical oncologist at the hospital said ldquoShe had a big tumour on her chest lymph nodes which was treated first through chemotherapy and then radiation Though she was responding very well to the treatment it was challenging for Prasad to concentrate on her studiesrdquo Dr Bakshi added there is a complete remission of the canceru00a0