GIRISH R, 31
Kickboxing World Champion
DIAGNOSIS: PROMYELOCYTIC LEUKEMIA
What does being a winner mean to me? Short answer: everything. As a kickboxing champion, I obsess about being the last man standing in the ring. Every cell in my body craves the taste of victory. Every fibre in my muscle burns for it.
And yet, when I met my fiercest rival, it looked like the match was loaded against me. When I was told that I was to spar with the Big C, cancer, it felt like a knockout blow. I reeled. I staggered. This certainly was no ordinary opponent. I knew. But what it didn’t know was that I’m no ordinary fighter either.
If there was one thing I’d learned it was this: every fight is first won, or lost, in the mind. And I decided to win. The very moment I made that decision, something changed. Deep inside me, something changed. I fought back. With every cell, every fibre in my body, with every ounce of courage in my soul, I fought. Falling, rising, ducking, punching... I fought. With an inspiring team of doctors, technicians, counsellors and family members walking with me every step of the way, I fought. I gave it my all. Until I was the last man standing.
Today, I’m on my feet. I have won. My life’s biggest battle is behind me. And my whole life is ahead of me. I was born to survive. This is what I do. Falling, rising, ducking, punching. And winning. I’m a survivor.
