“This Is Not the Age of Dying.”
“My name is Aditya Ghosh. I am from Barrackpore, West Bengal.”
He completed his schooling at Rohora Ram Krishna Mission, cracked JEE Advanced, and earned a seat at IIT ISM Dhanbad. Two days ago, in his final year, he secured a job placement at CESC.
On paper, everything was falling into place.
In April 2023, during his second-year mid-semesters, he was diagnosed with Classical Hodgkin Lymphoma.
The Weight That Felt Like a Blessing:
Aditya had always been on the healthier side since childhood. After the pandemic, when he returned to college, something unexpected happened. He started losing weight. Rapidly.
Thirty kilograms in three months.
For him, it felt like a blessing. He was playing cricket, feeling lighter, happier. For once, no one could call him “fat.”
But there was something else happening too.
He had constant fever. Since childhood, he had a tendency to catch fevers and even at 102°F he would attend classes and function normally. Fever was never something that disrupted his studies. So when the temperature stayed, he ignored it.
Every night, he would wake up drenched in sweat. But April–May in Dhanbad is intensely hot, so he assumed it was just the weather.
It wasn’t.
The Diagnosis:
When he went home in March, his mother noticed that his body temperature wasn’t normal. He initially took medicines prescribed by his maternal grandfather, a homoeopathy doctor. Something he had always done growing up. But this time, the fever didn’t go away.
He consulted his family physician, Dr. Jayanta Bhattacharya from SSKM. The word “cancer” wasn’t spoken immediately. Tuberculosis was mentioned as a possibility. Strong antibiotics and blood tests were advised.
Back in Dhanbad, he underwent further tests: blood work, chest X-ray, CECT scan.
The scan showed: Possible Lymphoma.
He was told not to lose time. A biopsy was urgently needed. After consulting Dr. Motraiyee Bhattacharjee at AMRI Dhakuria, who offered immediate intervention despite it being a weekend, his father decided the biopsy would be done at Tata Medical Center.
By then, his fever had risen to 103–104°F continuously. He even experienced a blackout before meeting Dr. Jeevan Kumar, who would go on to handle his case.
The diagnosis was confirmed. His lymph nodes were visibly swollen. He couldn’t move his neck properly.
The variant he had could spread aggressively… jumping stages within days.
Chemotherapy and the Sundays That Hurt Most:
He underwent 12 chemotherapies — 6 cycles.
For Aditya, the hardest part wasn’t just the treatment. It was the anticipation.
Every second Sunday night, he couldn’t sleep knowing chemo was scheduled the next morning. He knew what would follow . Two days of exhaustion, falling WBC counts, multiple injections, and bone pain so intense that he would ask his 90+ kilo father to sit on his back to relieve the pressure.
There were moments when the side effects felt overwhelming. For a brief second, he wondered whether it would be easier to give up than continue enduring it.
But that second passed.
Because his mother stood beside him. And he chose to fight.
“Never Going To Give Up”
When he first heard the diagnosis, he wasn’t devastated. He told himself, this is not the age of dying.
Until Class 12, he hadn’t experienced much leisure or enjoyment. He had just entered IIT. Life had barely begun. Was cancer going to define everything now?
No.
“I would not let that happen.”
He knew he would live. Tough times come to everyone, but strength lies in refusing to surrender to them.
The People Who Showed Up:
He describes Tata Medical Center as one of the cleanest places in Kolkata. Yet every time he entered, the smell of a particular medicine triggered nausea.
Still, he walked in.
The support from relatives, his father’s colleagues, his parents, and his college gave him immense mental strength. This phase showed him who would truly stay.
After returning to college, his friends normalized everything. They joked, laughed, and lightened the atmosphere instead of treating him differently.
“People who want to help will help. You don’t have to ask.”
Acceptance Over Panic:
Aditya believes that when someone hears the word “cancer,” they immediately lose more than half their confidence. That loss must be prevented.
Instead of overthinking and palpatising about the condition, one should always move forward with acceptance.
Hard situations are bound to come, everyone will face struggles. But nothing can really be done about it. All one can do is persevere. Believe that after a point, this too shall pass- for the better or worse.
It is ones willpower and mindset that drives one to stop obsessing over the negative aspect. It is a positive outlook that actually encourages one to rise from within.
Early Detection and Awareness:
Despite having an aggressive variant, he benefited from early intervention and excellent medical care. He strongly advises people not to ignore prolonged fevers or rapid, unexplained weight loss. These are not routine viral symptoms and should never be dismissed.
He also addresses a common myth: cancer is not contagious.
Patients should not be avoided or isolated.
At least once a year, people should undergo a full blood checkup; especially survivors.
For those afraid of chemotherapy, he offers perspective: he has seen newborn babies undergoing IV procedures, crying briefly and then returning to play.
“If they can deal with it, then surely you can try to”
All it takes is courage and the will to fight. Be it older or younger, each and every one needs to be mentally strong and foster the willpower to get through this.
He believes awareness must extend beyond cities. Into public schools, rural areas, and communities where medical information rarely reaches.
To show that with a united community and societal initiative,