Sonia Gandhi Reveals Breast Cancer And Pancreatic Tumour Battles In New Memoir

Sonia Gandhi has offered a rare insight into some of the most difficult health challenges of her life, revealing details of her breast cancer diagnosis in 2010, a pancreatic growth discovered the following year and a subsequent medical emergency in 2016.

In her newly published memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, the Congress leader describes the anxiety surrounding her medical diagnoses, the decisions she made about treatment and the support she received from her family. She also explains why concerns about media attention influenced her choice to seek treatment outside India.

Gandhi writes that before her breast cancer diagnosis, she had experienced occasional asthma attacks, allergies and stomach-related problems but had not faced any major health complications. She also recalls how her stomach disorders became more frequent as she grew older and became increasingly involved in politics.

"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 writes.

Sonia Gandhi's Breast Cancer Diagnosis And Surgery In 2010

The first major health crisis came in 2010, when doctors at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital advised Gandhi to undergo surgery after suspecting breast cancer.

Although she trusted her medical team, the diagnosis left her deeply concerned about what lay ahead. She recalls being told that there was little time to delay treatment, prompting fears about the possible outcome.

"Still, I felt shaken and worried; there was no time to lose, my children and I were told, and my mind began to race to a possible scary outcome," she recalls.

Gandhi was also uncomfortable with the possibility that her medical condition could become a subject of widespread media coverage. Rather than undergo treatment at Mumbai's Tata Memorial Hospital, she chose the European Institute of Oncology near Milan, Italy.

She explains in the memoir that maintaining her privacy was particularly important to her, despite her position as a prominent political figure.

"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 asked in the memoir.

Gandhi travelled to Italy accompanied by a senior officer, her children Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi, Priyanka's husband Robert Vadra, and her sisters Nadia and Anouchka. The operation was conducted under the supervision of renowned surgeon Dr Umberto Veronesi.

She remembers the emotional moment when her children accompanied her towards the operating theatre.

"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," she wrote.

During the operation, surgeons removed two tumours. One of them had not been considered suspicious but was removed as a precaution. Gandhi also underwent intra-operative radiation, a procedure that meant she did not have to undergo five weeks of additional radiotherapy.

Pancreatic Tumour Discovery In 2011 Led To Surgery In Rotterdam

Gandhi's medical difficulties continued in 2011, when a routine follow-up examination detected another growth, this time in her pancreas.

The discovery initially alarmed her and her family, who feared that the breast cancer might have returned. After several medical consultations, doctors recommended that she undergo surgery without delay.

"... 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 recollected.

She was subsequently referred to Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, where she received treatment from pancreatic surgeon Dr Casper van Fijck.

Despite reassurances from her family and medical team, Gandhi remained apprehensive because doctors could only determine the full extent of the growth during surgery.

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"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?" she recalls.

Unlike her earlier treatment in Italy, Gandhi kept this trip largely confidential. Before leaving for the Netherlands, she informed only then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and a small number of senior colleagues.

The operation eventually brought reassuring news. Dr van Fijck informed her that the growth had been identified early and was still at a preliminary precancerous stage.

"I had been fortunate the tumour was found to be in a preliminary precancerous stage, having been detected early," Gandhi wrote, recalling the doctor's assessment.

Sonia Gandhi Recalls 2016 Collapse During Varanasi Election Rally

The memoir also details another major health incident in August 2016, when Gandhi collapsed while attending an election rally in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh.

She describes a road crowded with supporters on both sides, with people raising slogans in support of the Congress. The convoy continued for almost five hours, leaving her increasingly exhausted before she eventually collapsed.

She was flown to Delhi for medical treatment. During the journey, Gandhi says she repeatedly drifted in and out of consciousness and experienced a vision of her late husband, former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

"Floating in and out of consciousness, I saw him again – Rajiv, reaching out to me, smiling at me reassuringly as if to say, everything will be fine," she said in the book.

Sheila Dikshit, who accompanied Gandhi during the flight, later told her that she had noticed her suddenly smiling despite the tense circumstances.

Gandhi believes the smile coincided with the moment she saw Rajiv in her vision. However, the collapse had left her with a severely broken shoulder, requiring another operation.

"Sheila Dikshit, who was by my side throughout, told me later that she noticed me suddenly smile in the middle of the tension-racked flight. I'm sure it must have been that moment. But I had broken my shoulder badly in the fall: another operation!" she recalls.

Sonia Gandhi's 526-Page Memoir Released By HarperCollins India

Titled Belonging: A Journey of Love, the 526-page memoir offers personal accounts of Gandhi's life, including her experiences with illness, family and public service.

Published by HarperCollins India, the book was released on Tuesday. Gandhi, who is set to turn 80 next month, shares several previously undisclosed details of the medical challenges she experienced during her years in public life.