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Bhakti Mathur

When she felt the small growth below her collarbone, Lipi Srivastava instantly knew something was amiss.
The now 50-year-old Hong Kong HR professional and mother of two quickly booked an appointment with an oncologist and had a biopsy. It confirmed that she had stage 1 high-grade breast cancer.
Srivastava remembers feeling numb upon hearing the diagnosis: “All I could think [about] was how I was going to tell my kids and my parents. How would they react?”
That was in August 2021. At her husband’s urging, she began to focus on fighting the cancer. She had surgery within 10 days of the diagnosis and was back to work after two weeks. Six rounds of chemotherapy followed, from September to December 2021.

In April 2022, she underwent preventive surgery to remove her ovaries and Fallopian tubes.
The side effects of the chemotherapy were severe: anaemia, headaches, peripheral neuropathy, numbness in her hands and feet, mouth ulcers, constipation, nausea, loss of appetite, intolerance to bright lights and loud noises, and medically induced menopause at the age of 47.
A rare side effect was the onset of cataracts, for which she needed surgery in both her eyes in January 2023.
A month into chemotherapy, Srivastava began losing the hair on her head and decided to shave it off.
“I was apprehensive about how I would look, but thought, now is the chance to try out different hairstyles,” she says. She began posting photos on social media of her wearing wigs, surprising people with her new looks.
She wanted to keep the mood in her house as normal as possible and did not want her suffering to affect her children, but it began to have an impact on their studies and their grades slipped. “I felt terrible,” Srivastava says.

Her husband kept her going through thick and thin.
“My husband has been my rock. He stepped up to manage our children, their studies, their emotional needs, the daily running of the house, my treatment schedule, all on top of his demanding work.
“Though the pandemic made it hard for my parents to travel from India, it was a blessing in disguise as my husband could work from home and be with me.”
Her sons surprised her by exhibiting maturity far beyond their age. “They became much more responsible and encouraged me.”
On a whim one day during chemotherapy, she felt like creating something and thought about painting. Her art experience stretched only as far as art class in school, though when she was younger she had also loved making rangoli – ancient Hindu designs in which colourful patterns are created on the floor using dry rice flour and coloured sand – at her home during Diwali each year.
She asked her husband to buy her some acrylic paint. He works for a wines and spirits company, and over the years she had upcycled many empty wine bottles into planters. This time, she picked up an empty bottle and a paintbrush and began painting it.
“My hands were weak and shook, but I persisted,” she says. “While I was engrossed in the work, time seemed to stand still.”

She began watching videos on YouTube to refine her skills.
Her husband loved her work and proudly displayed a bottle she had painted at his office. He and a good friend of Srivastava’s both suggested that she try oil painting; he ordered a few canvases for her, setting her on a new art journey.
Her paintings are inspired by feminism, spirituality and nature. She describes her art as a projection of her thoughts and desire to celebrate the brighter aspects of life.
She would spend two to three hours a day painting.
“I would tire easily and needed frequent breaks but would go back to it. Painting gave me purpose and I found it therapeutic. Painting healed me. It is my meditation.”
Her works have been exhibited in Hong Kong at the Lamma Art Collective space in Yung Shue Wan and the Watermark Community Church in Sai Ying Pun. Her dream is to exhibit at the Affordable Art Fair and Art Central.
On the road to recovery, Srivastava also focused on eating healthily. She eliminated fried and processed foods, refined flours, and sugar from her diet.
Instead of parathas – fried flatbread made of wheat – for breakfast, she now has oats, a boiled egg, smoothies, juice and fruit. Lunch is salad – of kidney beans, chick peas, paneer, sprouts – or a tuna sandwich. Dinner is usually an Indian meal such as dal, green leafy vegetables and rotis.

Before, she exercised only occasionally. She began walking three to four days a week, targeting 10,000 steps during her lunch hour.
She also practices tai chi occasionally and does strength training exercises once a week.
A friend introduced her to chanting “Nam myoho renge kyo” – a Buddhist expression of determination. The two would chant together to relieve her pain after chemotherapy.
“It helped calm me,” she says.
She also focused on moving away from negative people and negative thoughts and concentrating on the present. She quit alcohol – though she only drank rarely before – and embraced herbal teas. She also began going to bed before 10pm.
She took a short break from work post-chemotherapy to heal, recoup and focus on herself. In that time, she crafted a wooden table and clock at a carpentry workshop, took part in a women’s wellness retreat, made some great friends, meditated, attended art exhibitions, played the guitar, and began playing the keyboard.
Her husband Piyush says her journey shows how a “comeback is always stronger than the setback”.
Hers is an incredible tale of determination, healing and self-discovery, he adds. “She is an inspiration not only for the family but also for the ecosystem.”

Srivastava is grateful to God that she is alive.
“I am more confident in being ‘me’ now, focusing on my needs and helping the community in whatever way I can,” she says.
That includes conducting Bottle Art Jamming workshops and fundraising sessions for Phenomenally Pink, an NGO in Hong Kong that empowers families affected by breast cancer.
She has also painted cards for the elderly for charity HandsOn Hong Kong and was a panellist for the Australian Chamber of Commerce to raise awareness about breast cancer, its diagnosis and treatment.
Now in her third year of remission, Srivastava says that cancer has been a great teacher.
“I have learned that mental strength has more power than physical strength, and that perfectionism is overrated. Having a passion gives meaning to life and helps tide over the pain,” she says.
“I don’t try to ‘fit in’ any more. I have learned to appreciate myself. My outlook has changed, to pay it forward, help others and to be a better version of myself.”
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Health & Wellness

Health

Battling breast cancer and chemotherapy side effects, Lipi Srivastava discovered a talent for art that proved to be an effective therapy


Battling breast cancer and chemotherapy side effects, Lipi Srivastava discovered a talent for art that proved to be an effective therapy.
