Mani is 45 years old, very sprightly and confident. She has three children, two daughters and a son – all married. she lives with her husband, son and daughter in law. Full of life and a big Bollywood buff, she often goes with her husband to a theatre to watch a film. Shah Rukh Khan is her favourite Bollywood actor.

However, in August 2022, Mani noticed a lump in her left breast. She got a bit worried and got herself examined at AIIMS, Delhi. She was diagnosed with breast cancer at the second stage and her treatment immediately started at AIIMS. Mani’s husband was anxious and had many questions and worries about how best to look after his wife during her treatment. He had heard about a lot of side effects of cancer treatment. Addressing his concerns, the oncologist at AIIMS shared with him ‘Saath Saath – National Palliative Care Helpline Number: 1800-202-7777 ‘and informed him about CanSupport’s home based palliative care service to those battling cancer.

Without losing anytime, Mani’s husband called on Saath Saath Helpline number. Mani was speedily referred to one of CanSupport’s home care teams and the very next day, the team visited Mani to meet her and the family. The team was very impressed by Mani’s positive and determined attitude about thwarting her illness and live a long life for the sake of her husband and children.

On its first visit, the team was informed by Mani’s husband that despite Mani’s positive attitude towards life; she was feeling low since she knew that soon enough, she would start to lose hair and experience other side effects of chemotherapy. The team boosted her confidence by telling her they would manage all her symptoms with medication and that she needn’t worry on any account. The team counsellor motivated Mani to remain positive. The team’s first visit itself brought a lot of relief to Mani and her family. They could clear up all their uncertainties and ask the team freely about how to look after Mani at home while she was undergoing treatment.

The team counsellor also spent time with Mani’s husband, son and daughter in law to listen to them, answer their queries and guide them on how to keep Mani motivated. Mani’s husband is very supportive. He made sure he spent time with his wife every day despite his job that took away a major chunk of his day.

Mani was advised ten chemotherapy sessions. However, after her third session, she started to lose hair, experienced weakness and didn’t feel like eating anything at all. She was very disheartened and wanted to discontinue with chemotherapy. Mani’s husband reached out to the team counsellor who guided him well and asked him to pamper Mani by spending time with her and cooking her favourite dishes at home.

After every chemotherapy session, the home care team from CanSupport would visit Mani and take care of all her symptoms like nausea, mouth sores and fatigue.

A good counselling follows the concept of good bonding between the counsellor and the patient. By now the team counsellor had developed a deep bond with Mani and with regular counselling and motivation, Mani moved from one chemotherapy session to the next. The team nurse guided the family on Mani’s dietary requirement and taught Mani many easy exercises for her to feel relaxed and keep her mind engaged. With all this support from the palliative care team, Mani successfully completed her chemotherapy sessions and the entire family was relieved.

Mani has recovered from cancer and is back to her previous normal routine. Mani’s family is very grateful to the home care team for keeping Mani’s confidence and motivation alive whenever she lost hope or felt low and guiding the family well.