Alka, 31 years old, was going to get married soon. The preparations were on. Her parents and younger brother were so excited and looking forward to all the upcoming functions and rituals. Alka was dreaming about her life with her future husband. Her head was full of thoughts that any girl would have who was going to get married soon. The whole family was busy making arrangements.

However, at the start of the year 2020, out of the blue, Alka got a fever, and experienced shortness of breath. After a few tests and scans, she and her family were shocked to learn that she had developed lung cancer. “I had never thought cancer can happen to me,” shared Alka.

Alka’s marriage was called off and she had to quit her job. Soon her treatment started at a government hospital. Just around this time the coronavirus pandemic hit the country, and the lockdown was imposed. Hospitals went into a frenzy with Covid-19 patients swarming the hospitals. OPDs were shut. Doctors were out of reach for the patients of other diseases such as cancer. Alka and her family found it very hard to get appointments with the doctor for her follow up visits.

Luckily enough, the family learnt about CanSupport and its palliative care services for cancer patients at the hospital and they decided to call. Before this they had never heard of “palliative care”. They were delighted to hear that this team from CanSupport would come to their house to check on Alka and that they didn’t have to look for support elsewhere.

In July, 2020, the team from CanSupport met Alka and her family for the first time. In the first meeting they learnt that she was experiencing many physical symptoms like difficulty while walking, her body had swollen all over because of which she had to always sit on a chair. The swelling was so bad that she couldn’t lie down on a bed and had to sleep on a chair. The team doctor gave her medication to help her out of physical discomfort. The team nurse bandaged her body in places to give her some relief.

“Palliative care” is total care of a patient and his or her family. It not only aims to improve and support patients’ quality of life by controlling symptoms and alleviating physical, social, psychological, and spiritual suffering, the care also involves family members, caregivers, friends, significant others, and other social supports. After taking care of her physical symptoms, it was important for the team to address hers and her family’s emotional and psychosocial issues.

On the following day, the team visited the family again. The team counsellor wanted to understand the mental stress Alka and the family may be going through. He encouraged Alka to talk and share her concerns. “I really felt all alone,” shared Alka. “No one truly understood what I was going through.” The counsellor listened to her compassionately and assured her that the team was going to be with her and the family right till the end and would support the family in every whichever way.

The family was also still in a state of shock with the sudden change of events and didn’t know how to cope with all the fears and anxieties. The counsellor gave them all a compassionate ear and encouraged the family to look ahead rather than at the past. He told Alka that she was young and that she must focus on defeating her sickness and live a fulfilling life in the future post her recovery.

After a few regular counselling sessions, Alka and her family got over her broken marriage. In fact, on one occasion Alka said, “I’m not worried anymore that my marriage had to be called off. I am grateful to my friends and the team from CanSupport for looking after me and my family so well. Had it not been for the team, we don’t know what we would have done during the lockdown.”

The team gave Alka and her family the courage and hope to carry on with her treatment and visited them regularly. They not only managed Alka’s symptoms arising out of her treatment but continued to counsel the family. “I’m not so stressed now. I completely trust the team,” said Alka.

Alka is gradually on her way to recovery. She looks forward to her future life and have started planning things that she would like to do post the completion of her treatment.

“CanSupport has given me my life back,” says Alka.