Four Families Share Inspiring Stories of Their Fight Against Cancer — #WorldCancerDay
An average of 8.8 million people around the world succumb to cancer every year. Behind this large statistic are real people, who are fathers, children, brothers, friends, colleagues. While we may be aware of cancer fighters and survivors around us, we cannot fathom their grueling stories, the pain they deal with, and the strength they gain on the way. It is a daunting journey that comes before one can say, “I am a survivor.”
You, as an individual, can empower yourself to impact their lives positively. If each of us pledged to take steps to fight the disease, humanity could inch closer to eliminating the danger of cancer over the years. With the tagline “We Can. I Can”, is the unbeatable spirit that we, at Impact Guru, are applauding on #WorldCancerDay. Observed on the 4th of February every year, individuals and organizations around the world collectively strive to raise awareness about the threats of cancer and work continuously to educate the public. They take sessions on lifestyle steps to reduce the risks, the importance of getting tested regularly and early diagnosis.
In the past, World Cancer Day has encouraged that we, as a collective, work to improve access to healthcare for the underprivileged and create healthy environments at work and school and that I, individually, could make healthy lifestyle choices, get myself tested regularly and to help a loved one in need.
As a leading crowdfunding platform for medical causes, we have hundreds of inspiring stories of cancer fighters, those who won and those who couldn’t but left behind a legacy of courage and endurance. Here are some stories:
Neha’s twin sister watched in confused horror as she suffered a disease neither of them had a clue about
“The only thing worse than battling cancer is watching your child battle cancer.”
Neha was 9 at the time; a bright, energetic child. She had a twin sister, Nikita and the two were inseparable in their matching outfits. Neha was a budding Bharatnatyam dancer. Her mother, Noori, was like any other; she worried about her daughters’ grades and fussed when she started missing school on account of a persisting fever. Neha then started experiencing constant nausea and stomach troubles. When she didn’t seem to recover, a blood test was taken and that was when they found out; Neha had Leukemia.
For her parents, it seemed like life had taken a screeching turn. Possessions and assets were sold without a second thought, and money had to be coughed up. Like a soldier, little Neha braved the endless pain of chemotherapy, still unaware of the extent of her disease.
“Nikita burst into tears when she saw her sister, bald from the side effects of the chemo, and insisted on having her head shaved as well. I can’t think of words to express how this made me feel. I was too moved to argue with her.” Anil, their father, told us.
After her chemotherapy sessions, Neha showed signs of recovery. Her parents dared to start hoping that her daughter was finally going to be all right again. Three months after her last session in 2017, the second blow hit. The cancer relapsed. Neha spent her tenth birthday on a hospital bed that year, with parents who fervently prayed it wasn’t her last.
After frantic digging through the internet, Noori managed to send Neha’s reports to an American oncologist and prayed every minute until the response came. The words seemed to shine out to Noori: “Your daughter will live.” Her goal became clear now, thanks to the oncologist: a bone marrow transplant.
Determined to save their daughter but left with no money, assets or even a home, Noori and her husband moved to Bengaluru where they turned to crowdfunding, running multiple fundraisers. Neha boldly received her transplant recently and is now recovering slowly but surely in post-operative care. Find their campaign on Impact Guru.
Jasvee was diagnosed before she saw her first birthday
When they say that cancer can occur to anyone, we probably don’t realize the extent of the statement. We somehow assume that infants like one-year-old Jasvee aren’t included. Surely, they cannot possibly be vulnerable to the magnitude of a disease like cancer.
Aaryan and his wife were ecstatic when their little girl arrived. But their happiness was short-lived when months later, they woke up to the cries of little Jasvee and found her bleeding profusely from the gums. Confused and terrified, her parents rushed her to the hospital in the middle of the night. Tests and scans later, they were left to digest the fact that their tiny infant, who was yet to live life and see the world, was already taking on the ordeal of battling acute leukemia.
Jasvee’s mother cannot remember the last time she got a glimpse of the one-year-old’s smile. Watching her daughter writhe in pain day after day helplessly scars the young mother. Despite their meagre family income of Rs 20,000 and a rapidly depleting bank of savings, Aaryan and his wife are unstoppable. Driven by their determination to save the little one, they are crowdfunding with us and quickly raising funds. Take a look at their fundraiser page here.
Little Bhumi braves her cancer with the strength of a warrior
Bhumi is naughty, playful and only 4 years old. Siddhi, her mother spoke about the shock and disbelief she felt when Bhumi was diagnosed.
“You never expect your child to be that child. You hear about so many cases of childhood cancer, and it moves you for a moment, but you never imagine it could happen to your child.”
When Bhumi caught a common cold multiple times in a row, her parents took her to a doctor who suggested it may be an infection or typhoid at most. On observing her blood tests, the doctor noted that her haemoglobin was mysteriously low. Without further comment, he directed the perplexed parents to a doctor at KMC Hospital, Mangalore and sent her reports over.
On arriving at KMC, they were told that Bhumi was fighting Leukemia. Siddhi’s life seemed to turn upside down.
“I asked for a year’s leave. I didn’t even argue when they apologetically told me that it would be an unpaid leave. I am yet to absorb the reality of my daughter’s diagnosis. I still wait to wake up from this nightmare, but here we are, looking for solutions to save my daughter’s life.”
Siddhi watches helplessly as her 4-year-old takes on symptoms, one after the other, including constant vomiting, severe fever and lethargy. “I pray everyday that no parent ever sees their child suffer like I do.”
The doctor at KMC gave them an estimate of the medical treatment, which comes up to Rs 10 lakhs. Bhumi’s parents spilled out their savings and borrowed from their parents, but it barely covered half the amount. Their doctor suggested a solution they’d never heard of before; medical crowdfunding. “Our doctor recommended starting a campaign with Impact Guru. We visited the page and couldn’t believe the number of thriving fundraisers that popped up. It gives us hope, and we are willingly cling onto it.” Take a look at the full story on their fundraiser page here.
The Dadwals lost their boy, but chose to help others like him
When Haardik was ten, he developed a fever that refused to go away. Assuming it was dengue, his parents, Bishwajit and Anjana Dadwal, took him to the doctor. Scans and tests revealed the heartbreaking truth. Their little boy was battling Leukemia. He would need multiple cycles of chemotherapy and finally, a bone marrow transplant to be able to survive the ordeal. The boy’s 4-year-old sister was determined to do her bit to save his life; she became the stem cell donor.
To take on the daunting costs of the impending transplant, the Dadwals began crowdfunding. In no time, 181 supporters came together to pool in Rs 5 lakhs, but the funds raised were in vain. Little Haardik lost the battle to the disease on December 30th, 2017.
The Dadwals made a decision in the days that followed. They turned their campaign to save their son into an act of kindness towards children like him.
“Out of the funds we’ve raised, we have chosen to donate a portion to other patients running campaigns on Impact Guru, particularly children like our Haardik.”
They chose to continue crowdfunding, and use the remaining funds to save the lives of other children with Leukemia in the same hospital Haardik had been treated in. The Dadwals’ commendable strength leaves us speechless. Contribute to their mission here.
These are only a handful of the millions of cancer stories from around the world. We hope the remarkable strength of these patients and their families inspires you to take action against the disease today.
The first step to eliminating cancer is to understand it. Take a look at this website to learn about the disease and find out more about diagnosing the disease here.
Get involved in the battle against cancer.
The fight against cancer is often a lonely one. Let’s get together to help many families like these win and thrive. Here are some key organizations that are doing some commendable work for cancer patients. Check out their pages to see how you can get involved.
- Niramai is a startup that has discovered a low-cost, non-touch and radiation-free screening solution for breast cancer. They can detect tumors five times smaller than the ones clinical exams can detect.
- Cuddles Foundation is the only nonprofit in India that strives to provide holistic nutritional support to underprivileged children fighting cancer.
- Indian Cancer Society is the oldest cancer registry in Asia, working to detect and treat the disease and rehabilitate survivors. They have held over 25,000 detection camps and 10,000 awareness camps in schools.
Impact Guru has seen thousands of campaigns like these, and continues to work with cancer patients and their families. If you know someone who may need help crowdfunding for their cancer treatment, feel free to get in touch at info@impactguru.com. Learn more about crowdfunding for cancer on our website.
Written by Divya Kilikar
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