K24 TV’s Anjlee Ghadhvi informed her bosses about her cancer diagnosis in 2015, because of how the treatment would affect her work.
To her relief, they were sympathetic about the situation and assured her of their support, with some turning into close friends after the disclosure.
"I kept the news in the hush for some time. Later, I told my bosses, and some few friends," she disclosed to People Daily.
The company came up with an arrangement where she was allowed time off from work to seek treatment.
"Cancer treatment is no joke. You suffer severe fatigue, pain from the multiple injections and incur scars in the body," Anjlee narrated.
Despite the discomfort and her boss allowing her rest, she would still find her way to the studio.
"I love my job and working during treatment gave me something to look forward to. Any person going through cancer treatment will tell you that it's such little things that heal us and keep us going. To take my job away would be robbing me of my instinct to survive," she explained.
She would appear on TV screens and read the news as if everything was fine and dandy even when she was suffering the side effects of radiotherapy and drugs.
"Since last year, I have undergone three cycles of radiotherapy. The treatment is harsh and painful.
“At times it causes irritation on my throat among other side-effects. There are times I have gone on screen and read news despite the irritation," she informed.
The TV siren has since taken a break from anchoring after she underwent a liver transplant which weakened her body.
Anjlee was put on immunosuppressant drugs, which make the body less likely to reject a donated organ and as a result, weakening her immunity.
Her resilience is yet another reminder of the struggle cancer patients go through even as care remains out of reach for most Kenyans.
