A loving husband, two beautiful school-going daughters aged 10 and 8, Hema had a beautiful nest and everything that a woman could desire. But at 40, she was diagnosed with breast cancer with brain metastasis. Her treatment brought her a lot of pain and depression and that kept her away from doing everything she loved. She would be in so much pain that she could neither cook nor look after her daughters. She was lucky to have a loving husband and two very responsible daughters. While her daughters took on the responsibility of taking care of the household chores, her husband did his best to take care of her.

When Hema’s cancer inevitably advanced she became bedridden. At times she started to lose consciousness. Doctors knew that her disease couldn’t be cured. Eventually, Hema’s oncologist referred her to palliative care. That’s when they called on CanSupport’s helpline number.

When CanSupport got her referral, the cancer was already at stage 4. Hema’s husband was in a private job but as a result of her illness, he had to quit his job in order to look after her. He had to be present at home since he couldn't leave his sick wife alone with two young girls.

When the CanSupport team visited Hema, she was suffering from acute pain, swelling, weakness, loss of appetite and memory loss. The team was really hands-on and immediately started her medication. She had become very weak and frail so to take care of her nutrition intake, the doctor gave her protein powder and also provided the family with dressing material. The doctor also shared his contact number with Hema’s husband so that he could call the team in case she needed any immediate assistance. By combining pain and symptom management with emotional and spiritual support, the palliative care team treated Hema as a whole person.

As Hema’s husband had quit his job, there was no money. On top of that, he had to look after his sick wife and two school-going children. He did not even have money to pay his daughters’ school fees, as a result, their daughters' names were removed from the school and their online classes at home during the lockdown stopped. This made him very sad and worried about his daughters’ future. Palliative care not only treats seriously ill patients but also supports their families. Hema’s husband was struggling with caregiver burnout, he needed support, too. The team sat with him to discuss and understand his concerns. On learning that his daughters’ name from the school was removed the counsellor volunteered to talk to the school and the teacher to explain to them the family’s situation and to request them to let his daughters’ education continue on compassionate grounds. The counsellor was able to make the school and the teacher agree.

Not only that, the team helped the family by providing them free stationery for the girls and arranging for home tutoring for them through one of the family members of another CanSupport patient.

Hema’s husband was very thankful to the team for helping out with his daughters’ education but he was still struggling with making ends meet at home with no job. Hema’s health was deteriorating. On the one hand, he couldn’t leave her alone at home on the other hand he needed to earn money. He shared his problems with the counsellor. The counsellor advised him to admit his wife to Shanti Avedana where she would be looked after well and he could resume his job. He found this to be a very pragmatic solution and admitted his wife to Shanti Avedana. His wife was looked after well at Shanti Avedana though gradually she was slipping away. In a few weeks, she peacefully merged with the universe.

Hema’s husband is very grateful to the CanSupport team for supporting him and the family during their toughest time. And for looking after Hema and the family and for helping Hema live the last few months of her life pain-free and in comfort.

We at CanSupport continue to stay in touch with the family and wish for Hema's daughters' bright and happy future.