This essay traces my journey through my breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and the effects on my body, identity, and daily life. While medical treatment shaped the clinical arc of illness, what sustained me was the care and support of family, friends, peers, and unexpected allies. This network, embodying the ethics of care rooted in reciprocity, solidarity, plurality, and compassion, expanded my agency. My narrative also reflects briefly on the structural inequities of cancer care in India and challenges conventional metaphors of illness, offering instead an ethic of reconciliation and collective healing.
Copyright and license ©Indian Journal of Medical Ethics 2026: Open Access and Distributed under the Creative Commons license ( CC BY-NC-ND 4.0), which permits only non-commercial and non-modified sharing in any medium, provided the original author(s) and source are credited.
Very deeply moving account of her illness by Sarojini. Her words “ Healing, lies in presence and acceptance rather than in denial. Illness may isolate the individual body or parts of it, but healing is deeply collective.” Will continue to resonate within me