Dr. Ritu Biyani- When a woman crosses boundary

30,220 km, in 177 days covering 26 states, these are not numbers but the story of a woman, an Indian Army Dental Corp, Mountaineer, Solo driver, and a breast cancer survivor.

She, like every girl was taught not to cross the lines drawn precariously by a patriarchal system. But after generations of suppression, when a woman truly takes the leap out of the box, she creates history. This world has underrated the passion of women; she is the creator of life, and she holds dynamism to change the “normal”. One such story of grit is etched in history by Dr. Ritu Biyani. This woman of steel, with her devotion and enthusiasm, built a world safe and welcoming for cancer patients and survivors.

Dr. Ritu Biyani is trying to change the face of cancer. Her tale begins when one day like any ordinary woman she was diagnosed with breast cancer. But what made her different is her choice to respond to the word “Cancer”. After facing the hardships of a cancer patient, this lady decided to stop the monstrous effects of cancer by spreading awareness.

She traveled from cities to bastis, organizing campaigns and making people aware of the disease and myths. She and her daughter organized more than 140 workshops in 26 states to break the walls of misconceptions regarding cancer. In 2007 and 2008, this mother-daughter bond got featured in Limca Book of Records. But this was just the beginning of her saga.

Some people are born to heal others and this human angel is one of them. She opened a non-profit organization, “Highways >>>Infinite” which has branched to provide funding to cancer patients. She conceptualized the first International Expedition for Cancer survivors and this journey included Australian breast cancer survivors and caretakers.

“We had only challenges and not problems in front of us”. These words of Dr. Ritu hit hard as she struggled through every street of India, sleeping without beds, and making every end meet all alone. Her stories and achievements are like a checklist about what we need to unlearn about cancer. The mountaineer and paratrooper never let pity stop her wings but pushed her to take flight to cure the world. This warrior connected adventurous sports with such a lethal disease. Her innovation and spirit are a true example of human power changing misery into magic. Her fight from syringes to opening her NGO cannot be unseen and has given courage to thousand others to take the leap.

“Baldness, stitches, scars, chemotherapies are not the actual problems. The real hurdle is how you and the people around you look at cancer”. These golden words will stay with humanity for eons to come. May gems like her keep giving directions to humanity for mending and improving healthcare. May every girl remember to cross the line out of her kitchen and home!

‘This universe is waiting for every ordinary woman, curating an ordinary humankind with her extraordinary strength!’