Nurse's Private Battle: How Soumya Augustine Hid Her Cancer While Caring for Others

Soumya Augustine never let her colleagues see the weight she carried. The 41-year-old nurse from Kerala worked in the cardiology department at Rashid Hospital in Dubai, caring for heart patients day after day, while privately managing a cancer diagnosis she kept from becoming anyone else’s burden. She died on Thursday night at a private hospital in Dubai, her husband and closest friends at her side. She left behind three young children.

The disease first appeared during a routine hospital screening in the early days of the Covid-19 pandemic, a moment made sharper by the fact that her youngest child was only a few months old when doctors delivered the diagnosis. Treatment followed. For some years, Soumya remained free of symptoms, returning to her work and her family as though the illness were something she had simply decided to outlast. Recently, the cancer came back. She took sick leave to focus on treatment, but the relapse proved too much to overcome.

A grieving colleague put it plainly: “Yet, she never let her disease be an issue or complaint. Hers was a silent battle. She always wore that smile till that evening on Thursday.” That composure, sustained across years of private struggle, became the quality people reached for first when they tried to describe her.

On Saturday afternoon, dozens of nurses from hospitals across the UAE gathered at an embalming centre in Al Muhaisnah to pay their final respects. Colleagues from Rashid Hospital arrived by bus, arranged by the hospital itself. Members of the nursing community from her church in Sharjah joined the funeral prayers, as did representatives from Emirates Malayali Nurses Family, a social network of thousands of Malayali nurses working throughout the UAE. Her family stood among them as prayers were offered.

Siyad K Jamaludeen, president of Emirates Malayali Nurses Family, spoke of the depth of feeling in the room. “So many of them attended the funeral prayer,” he said. The group released a statement in her memory: “You faced life’s challenges with incredible strength, grace and a smile. Your courage, positivity and kind heart inspired everyone around you. You will always be remembered as a true fighter, someone who never gave up, even in the hardest times.”

Her nursing colleagues offered their own tribute, one that moved beyond the professional to the personal. “Today, we remember you, not with sadness alone, but with deep gratitude for the beautiful person you were. You were a kind, caring and compassionate soul, always putting others before yourself. Your smile could brighten the darkest days, and your warm heart made everyone around you feel valued, supported and loved. You gave your best in everything you did, as a dedicated nurse, a responsible professional, a loving daughter, a caring family member and a true friend. Your strength, patience and positive spirit were an inspiration to so many.”

By Saturday evening, her body had been repatriated to Kerala. Her husband and three children accompanied her home, where funeral rites were scheduled to take place. Friends and relatives offered tearful farewells as she departed the UAE, the country where she had worked, raised her family, and met her greatest challenge with a steadiness that the people who knew her are still trying to find words for.