Suman, a 38 years old woman suffering from breast cancer came to Delhi from Muzaffarabad for her treatment. The family including her husband and two daughters rented a small room near AIIMS.

She saw the CanSupport helpline poster in the hospital premises during her visit to the hospital for her chemo. She called the helpline number and the counsellor listened to her and suggested that she enroll herself under CanSupport’s home based palliative care program. She immediately agreed and shared her address and number.

When our team visited her for the first time, they met the family. Suman’s husband was a farmer back home however here he was jobless and also the only caregiver. The team talked with the couple at length. Suman was very comfortable with the team despite meeting them for the first time. She shared her feelings and condition as well as the fact that her husband had no work here. She was very afraid about taking the treatment and had many doubts about what will happen next.

The team listened to her and explained in detail about the procedure and treatment. The team also discussed about the pros and cons of taking the treatment. She was eventually convinced to continue her treatment and fight the disease.

She decided to go in for radiotherapy. While she was having her treatment, the team visited her occasionally to check on her health and also if she needed any support. The team motivated her to keep fighting and also counseled her husband not to be rude and take care of her. She was very thankful to the team for listening to her and giving her the right diet plan. The team also gave her medicines from time to time as some medicine were expensive.

After the chemo and radiation, the doctor advised surgery. However, she was not willing to go for surgery as they didn’t have money and she was also afraid of the operation theatre. The counselor directed them to the CanSupport social worker who helped them receive a grant under the government scheme after going through their medical records and other documents. Arranging money along with positive talk about the surgery helped in building confidence in Suman. The team also provided her with ration as the family was struggling to make ends meet since her husband was jobless.

After the surgery Suman decided to go back home. They left for Muzaffarabad thanking the team for all the support they had given them. CanSupport team is constantly in touch with her, she is doing fine but sometimes she feels low. She feels that after talking to the team she gets motivated to do something for her children. She says it’s because of the team that she is living her life happily.