Kirti was 52 years old with cancer of the ovary and metastasis. She was undergoing treatment in a tertiary care institute in Delhi. However, the doctors explained the diagnosis and poor prognosis of Kirti to the family and advised them to take care of her at home. The family then contacted CanSupport and Kirti was enrolled with CanSupport in March of 2020 as a home care patient.

Kirti was from a low socioeconomic class and lived with a family of five, including herself. Her husband is a daily-wage earner and works as a labourer. She had three children, two daughters and a son, all in their twenties. The children could not receive a good education and, thus, were unable to find regular jobs.

During the lockdown in 2020, owing to the pandemic, the family had no source of income. To add to their woes, the transport facilities to and from the hospital were too expensive and far beyond their means, and the hospital was also providing only skeletal services. Hence, the family was struggling to provide medical care to Kirti. Kirti herself was unaware of the diagnosis.

The palliative care team from CanSupport on its first visit, found Kirti dehydrated as she wasn’t able to have anything orally due to the discomfort from abdominal distension. On examination, the team doctor found she had severe ascites which needed draining, but they were unable to take the patient to the hospital for the same. The team nurse inserted a Foley catheter and drained the urine, which provided some relief. The patient, however, insisted on ascitic taping as in the hospital she would only find relief after draining. Her desperation made the team nurse do the taping at home, and the nurse drained nearly 700 ml of fluid. Kirti was greatly relieved from the distress and breathlessness and could drink some juice. After an hour and 30 minutes of medical care and psychological support to the family, the team left their home, leaving the patient, very grateful for the relief she received during the trying times of the pandemic. The same evening, she was able to consume semi-solid food and empty her bowels.

The home care team continued to follow up on the case, and Kirti lived on for 16 more days. She passed away peacefully on the 17th day at home, surrounded by her loved ones.

In those 16 days that Kirti survived, the family was able to arrange a marriage for the oldest daughter. Though Kirti passed away before the marriage, she had the satisfaction of knowing that her daughter was settled and that a part of her social responsibility was taken care of.

The palliative care team is happy that it could cater to the needs of this family during the hardest time of their lives. While Kirti received relief from her symptoms and had a peaceful death, the family was saved from a lot of economic and physical strain. Seeing Kirti relieved would have spared the family from feeling guilty for not taking timely action and good care of the most precious member of their family.