‘Rahul, Priyanka held my hand’: Sonia Gandhi reveals cancer battle, secret surgeries in memoir

Congress Parliamentary Party Chairperson Sonia Gandhi has revealed for the first time that she was diagnosed with cancer and underwent surgery in 2010. In her memoir, Belonging: A Journey of Love, she has detailed her health struggles, treatment abroad and the support she received from her children, Rahul and Priyanka Gandhi.

Gandhi wrote that she had experienced occasional asthma and allergies but had no major health problems until 2010. Recalling the second term of the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, she said stress and her growing involvement in politics had contributed to frequent stomach disorders.

"My doctors pointed out, stress is one of the main causes of stomach disorders, and, sure enough, these became frequent and worsened as I grew older and got drawn into politics myself," she wrote.

Why Sonia Gandhi chose treatment abroad

Gandhi recalled that doctors at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital advised her to undergo surgery after a suspected cancer diagnosis. Although she had full faith in her medical team, she decided against undergoing the operation in India to avoid the media attention surrounding her treatment.

She eventually opted for surgery at the European Institute of Oncology near Milan, Italy, under celebrated surgeon Dr Veronesi, who founded and headed the institute.

Gandhi also clarified in her memoir that her two surgeries took place in Italy and the Netherlands, not at New York's Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, as had been widely speculated. Her second surgery was performed at Erasmus University Medical Centre in Rotterdam.

Recalling her anxiety before the first operation, she wrote: "I had always sought to keep my personal space private, and the thought of my illness being discussed in the media was painful to me—even infuriating. True, I had become a public figure, but did that mean I wasn't to be allowed even a modicum of privacy?"

She also remembered Rahul and Priyanka accompanying her before the surgery.

"On the day of the surgery, as I was wheeled into the operation theatre, Rahul and Priyanka held my hand and kissed me on the forehead, assuring me that all would be well," she added.

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Cancer returned a year later

Although the first surgery was successful, Gandhi said the cancer returned a year later, requiring further treatment in Rotterdam.

After several consultations, doctors advised immediate surgery. The tumour was initially suspected to be neuroendocrine, which would have required a lengthy operation and hospital stay.

"I was agitated and worried about the operation in spite of everyone's reassurances, since the actual extent of the disease could only be determined after the surgery. My mind began to dwell on a worst-case scenario. What if it turned out to be a metastatic growth? Would I come through it?" she wrote.