750 in 2 months , Fought Cancer and Side effects.

Phew, Its been a tough last few months for me personally.

I would like to share my experience, so that it can be beneficial to some one who is having a tough time while preparing . I had given GMAT for the 1st time in May 2016 and got a score of 690. Though this score wasn't that bad but it wasn't really suitable for the colleges i was aiming for.
I had tried to prepare for the best part of 2 months using OG and Manhattan Guide for SC. At the same time though i must admit that i was very distracted as i had been engaged and marriage beckoned in about 3 months. Finally i tried to delay my GMAT to the last possible day and gave it just one day before my engagement. . Wham! 690 (Q49,V34).. before it could sink in i was preparing for the next step of my life which was marriage. All i knew was that this course was not enough and i had to give another shot at GMAT as soon as possible as i had aimed to apply to the class starting in 2017 so i had to complete most of my applications by Oct-November to apply in the first round. I got married in July and started preparing for the next GMAT.
My quant was okay, the main problem was verbal. I could not get a hang of CR questions and was always confused with SC and more than less went ahead with the choice which sounded right to the ear. I needed some prep material which could specifically help me with VERBAL. I thought of joining some classroom course but half of them were too costly and half of them were not that good. I also have a demanding job , so i wanted a course which i could complete at my own convenience and pace. This is when i head about E Gmat and decided to go ahead with it. Everything felt pretty smooth and i had made up my mind to give GMAt in October end.

But, God always has some surprise in store for you. I was getting sick very often for the past 2 or 3 months and went for a full body check in a nearby hospital. In the X ray of the chest , there was some mass near the lungs. Initially i thought it was TB or Pneumonia but the doctors were not certain. They wanted to do more tests. The lady doctor who was diagnosing me told me that this looked like a tumour. "Be prepared for the worst"- These were her words. I was totally shaken up. I was not even thinking about GMAt in my wildest dreams. I just hoped that this was nothing serious. After other tests were run , the doctor told me that i had a very rare type of testicular cancer which generally happens in young adults.I would have to undergo chemotherapy sessions for the next 2 or 3 months and then they would assess my situation.

So here I was , just 1 month into married life, happy with everything going on and then this happened. I decided that since this is something that has to be done anyway then instead of blaming fate or blaming any one for that matter , the best thing to do would be face the battle with cancer head on. I wanted to beat it. One thing i dint know was how tough chemo would be . Let me tell you. Its the closest feeling that you can have to death. Chemo literally kills you and slowly brings you back to life. My chemos lasted for about 3 months. During this period I contacted E Gmat and told them that i would be unable to go ahead with the course. They offered to freeze my account indefinitely . After my chemo was over i was left half dead. But the important thing was that I was alive. I had for now defeated cancer. There was no tumour any more in the X Rays or the CT Scan. after recuperating somewhat for about half a month, I joined my job back. But, I found it really tough to cope up with work post chemo. I had developed a painful condition known as anal fissure which made it impossible for me to sit. It healed then came back again multiple times between December and Jan 2017. At the same time i started with my GMAT preparation and decided to give GMAT in MArch before i would be going for my first followup with the doctor. Slowly my Fissure subsided and some of my strength returned. I was able to focus on studies as well as work. My preps were going okayish. I gave GMAT prep exam again and got 690 again. I was not at all amused. I prepared some more through e gmat and slowly started to feel confident in SC. I was now understanding the patterns in questions and solutions and not just going with what "felt right on hearing" . In my first attempt i had exhausted all MGMAT Mocks . I had even bought KAPLAN premier during the failed attempt but only given 2 of the 5 mocks.
I decided with going ahead with KAPLAN mocks and i also purchased GMAT prep extra mocks. I prepared RC from KAPLAN (just the theory). Everything was slowly falling into place due to my hardwork and perseverance. But as fate would have had it, there was another twist in the tale. I had another fissure flare up one week before my exam . This was more severe than any one of the earlier flare ups. I was not able to sit for a week. I started eating less so that i did not have to poop much. ( For those of you who don't know relation between pooping and pain in an anal fissure case ... go google) . The final week of preparation was all done lying down. Now there are people who like to sit and study and there is a group who wouldnt mind lying down and studying . I can say i am a core member of the former group.

So anyways, come exam date i was still not able to sit. I ate 2 brufen tablets in morning to kill the pain somewhat and went ahead with the test. I was under some pain during the AWA and IR sections. Went out and popped 2 paracetamol tablets in the 8 min break. Finally after the test ,i was more relieved because of the end of agony than my score. But now, the score has started to sink in. This was a very arduous journey and finally the end result has been sweet.

Following are my score chronologically.

GMAT Prep Test 1 - 690
KAPLAN CAT1 - 710
GMAT Prep Test 3 - 750
KAPLAN CAT 3- 730
Veritas Free CAT- 720
KAPLAN CAT 5-720
GMAT Prep Test 5-770*

Final GMAT- 750

What resources I used-
E Gmat - FOR SC
KAPLAN Book for RC (theory)
E Gmat - Scholaranium for SC and CR questions
Veritas Prep free queston bank for CR questions (some really high quality questions - This really improved my CR.)


EDIT 1: I am happy to tell you guys that I have secured an admit from Duke Fuqua. Looking ahead to the future with positivity and optimism.