'I'm in a harassed state of mind': Dutee Chand on her battle with cancer

Dutee Chand recalls having experienced the shock of her life when she was told by a doctor in November 2021 that level 1 cancer has attacked her body and she must quit the sportThat was after she failed to go past the preliminary round in the Tokyo Olympics womens 100m and 200m racesSports Medicine expert Dr Sudeep Satpathy a professor at the Kalinga Institute of Medical Sciences KIMS in Bhubaneswar diagnosed the onset of level 1 cancer in Dutees bodyI felt very scary nervous thinking what has happened to my life Dutee told PTI from Bhubaneswar recollecting the conversation she had with the doctor her after the MRI reportDoctor Satpathy was attached with the Indian hockey team at one point of timeSharing her ordeal Dutee said her problems began with a groin injury in 2021While competing in the National InterState Championships before the Tokyo Olympics 2021 I felt a lot of pain in the groin area I consulted some doctors but the pain did not go I went to Olympics JulyAugust 2021 and could not do well there she saidAfter returning from the Olympics the pain kept increasing I did an ultrasound in November 2021 Nothing came in the ultrasoundThen I got an MRI scan done and the doctor Sudeep Satpathy told me that level 1 cancer attack has begun He said I have to quit sport otherwise it will get worseAlso ReadKishore Jena cleared to compete at World Cships after Neeraj Chopras appealAsked which parts of the body could have been affected by cancer Dutee said she can think of only groin areaI am having testosterone hormone imbalance so it could be from there The groin pain was increasing slowly Everybody was saying its groin pain but the doctor said cancer attack can happen if it the pain continuesIn 2015 Dutee had won a case at the Court of Arbitration for Sport CAS against world athletics governing bodys policy on hyperandrogenism or high natural levels of testosterone in womenShe was earlier left out of the the 2014 Commonwealth Games Indian contingent at the last minute on the ground that hyperandrogenism made her ineligible to compete as a female athleteDutee who has been handed fouryear ban for failing dope test is also the first Indian athlete to come out in the open to having samesex relationship in 2019Asked specifically if she underwent some more tests for reconfirmation and the latest status Dutee said At that time the doctor Satpathy said its level 1 cancer attack There was a lot of pain at that timeBut after taking medicine the pain has subsided there was recovery I did not do any other medical test because I was feeling all right not much of pain Then I gave this sample to NADA and came the dope positive result That is the story said the 27yearold sprinter who won 100m and 200m silver medals in the 2018 Asian GamesShe said she took the medicine for the groin pain for just 1520 days She stopped it as the pain had reducedI spoke to my doctor who advised me to take rest otherwise it will keep on increasing and will become a serious problem So I stopped training a bit and took the medicine for 15 to 20 daysI could not do much at the Commonwealth Games because of the pain This is something like if you exert more the pain get worseSurprisingly Dutee has not done anymore test after the November 2021 MRIAfter this dope positive result in January this year I am not in a position to do medical test for the cancer diagnosis I am completely in a harassed state of mindI sent the medical report to an expert also who told me it has happened to twothree other athletes alsoAt stage 1 the cancer is small without spread At stage 2 the cancer grows but still does not spread At stage 3 the cancer is larger and could spread to the surrounding tissues andor the lymph nodesWith agency inputs