Negotiating illness — anchored in solidarity and collective healing

This essay traces my journey through my breast cancer diagnosis and treatment, and the effects on my body, identity, and daily life. While medical treatment shaped the clinical arc of illness, what sustained me was the care and support of family, friends, peers, and unexpected allies. This network, embodying the ethics of care rooted in reciprocity, solidarity, plurality, and compassion, expanded my agency. My narrative also reflects briefly on the structural inequities of cancer care in India and challenges conventional metaphors of illness, offering instead an ethic of reconciliation and collective healing.