Sonia Gandhi opens up about battling cancer twice during UPA tenure

Sonia Gandhi has broken her silence on a significant personal health struggle, disclosing in her memoir that she fought cancer on two separate occasions during India's second United Progressive Alliance government. In "Belonging: A Journey of Love," released this week, the Congress leader describes how her health deteriorated amid the pressures of high office.

Gandhi underwent surgery for suspected breast cancer in 2010 at Delhi's Sir Ganga Ram Hospital. During a follow-up examination conducted a year later, doctors detected another growth in her pancreas, adding to the physical and emotional toll of her medical journey. The revelations mark the first time Gandhi has publicly discussed her cancer diagnoses, which remained largely private during her tenure leading the UPA coalition government.

Beyond the cancer diagnoses, Gandhi writes that political stress significantly worsened pre-existing health conditions. She notes that while she had previously experienced occasional asthma, allergies, and stomach troubles, these ailments intensified as her involvement in politics deepened. Medical experts, she explains, attributed her recurring stomach disorders to stress-related factors, conditions that grew more pronounced with age and increased political responsibility.

The Congress president's candid account provides insight into the personal challenges that accompanied her leadership of the coalition government during a politically turbulent period in Indian politics. Her willingness to discuss these private medical struggles represents a notable departure from her typically reserved public profile.