womanthismonth.com | OCTOBER 2026 STORIES OF STRENGTH 87 Holding Us Up STORIES OF STRENGTH When Viji Velayudhan’s mother, Vijayalakshmi, was diagnosed with Stage II triple-negative breast cancer in 2023, their family faced a frightening new reality. Here, Ms. Velayudhan reflects on standing by her mother through eight arduous months of treatment and how the experience transformed her as a person. I still remember the terror that took hold when we first heard the diagnosis. As her daughters, my sister and I struggled with the thought of what our mother was about to endure. In our fear, however, we had underestimated our mother’s tenacity. Her treatment lasted around eight months and included surgery, chemotherapy and radiation. The days surrounding her surgery were excruciating, while chemotherapy brought its own ordeals. There were times when she was utterly drained, but even in her own turmoil, she still tried to shield us from the worst of it. She never once let us see her lose hope. My sister and I could not take away what our mother was going through, but we tried to make sure she never faced it alone. We stayed close on the difficult days, encouraged her when exhaustion set in and did whatever we could to lift her spirits. Sometimes that meant talking and laughing together. Other times, it meant simply sitting beside her. We learnt that being there did not always require words. The determination my mother showed during that period deepened my admiration for her in ways that are difficult to put into words. Even on her hardest days, she kept going. Watching her taught me that true courage means grappling with fear, yet finding the strength to push through anyway. What we lived through changed me as a daughter. I came to truly understand just how precious even ordinary moments with our parents can be. Each conversation, meal or shared car ride began to feel like a gift I could no longer take for granted. Even the moments we spent in silence, simply existing alongside each other, carried greater weight. Today, I am immensely grateful to say that my mother is cancer-free. I still get teary-eyed when I think back on everything she endured. She Viji attacked each stage of her treatment with ferocity while somehow remaining our source of strength through it all. I am so incredibly proud of her. I cannot emphasise that enough. For my sister and me, what our mother endured became about more than the disease itself. It reaffirmed the depth of the bond we share with her and taught us first-hand what it truly means to stand beside someone you love through the hardest period of their life. My mother will always be proof to me of just how much a person can endure and still come through with their spirit intact. As her daughter, I hope that sharing her story offers some strength to another woman or family facing the same uncertainty. In her own words: “Be strong and face the situation. Never give up. It is a new start to life.”
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