In lighter vein....

The mention of word surgery - be it minor or major - is enough to give anyone jitters - especially if a person is a weak hearted one. The unfortunate part is that more than often surgery is unavoidable, if advised by an expert. So, whether courageous or chicken, one has to undergo the long ordeal and the linked trauma, post operative pain, precautions and so on.

However, now I feel that a person can cope with all the mental agony, anxiousness and physical pain or discomfort. What is most difficult to cope with is the later part when one is recovering.

It is alright if the surgery was of head or limbs or any such important but non-interesting part of the body. But what if the surgery is of a woman's breast? Then it becomes a real trouble!!!

People ask with genuine concern, ``Oh, what had happened?'' and she simply explains that she got a surgery done on her breast for fibroids. Suddenly the expression changes. Curiosity takes over concern. The gaze shifts a meter below the eye level. It seems as if the person is trying to examine the operated organ through his x-ray vision. The inquirer starts measuring the difference this surgery must have made to poor woman's assets.

Now what a woman is supposed to do? Should she coyly avoid the question? Or should she mention a general health problem? Or should she boldly and casually tell the friends and acquaintances about the surgery, if asked?

A suggestion came from someone that the woman should frankly satiate the query and then depending on the gaze of the inquirer, she can also explain that the surgery was a simple process of removing a malignant or benign tumour known as fibroids and it does not cause any cosmetic harm to her breasts. The only difference this surgery has made to her is to lessen her mental stress and improved her chances of living a healthier life.