Renu is a mother of two teenaged daughters and lives in a joint family with her husband, in laws and a widowed sister-in-law. CanSupport got her referral through its cancer helpline in January 2020. By then she had already undergone an operation for cancer of the breast and her chemotherapy sessions were going on.

Renu’s husband works as a labourer and her daughters work part time alongside pursuing their college degree. However, post her diagnosis, neither her husband could attend to work, nor her daughters focus on their studies. Her widowed sister-in-law, who had lost her husband a year prior, also does not have an occupation and was not able to contribute to the family expenses. Renu’s treatment was going on out of some savings the family had made.

A cancer diagnosis and the rigors of its treatment sometimes make it difficult for a patient to get out of bed in the morning. So, it wasn’t a surprise when the home care team from CanSupport visited Renu at her home for the first time around noon, she had just barely woken up. The house was rather quiet and shrouded in pal of sadness. Renu’s symptoms included fatigue, digestive issues, nausea, and joint pain.

Not only was Renu experiencing these symptoms, but she was also distressed about physical changes on her like loss of hair and other changes due to all procedures and treatments to an extent that she had suicidal thoughts.

Since Renu’s chemotherapy was going on, the home care team visited her weekly to manage all her physical symptoms and stress with medication.

With proper medication and support by the palliative care team from CanSupport, Renu felt better. “It’s comforting when you’re in the chair getting the chemotherapy, because you know you’re getting help,” said Renu, “But it’s the days in between chemotherapy sessions when you’re at home, that you can use that extra care by the palliative care team to make sure your quality of life is taken care of as well.”

Counselling sessions with the team counsellor further helped Renu get over her depressive, suicidal thoughts. The counsellor also held many counselling sessions with the other family members on how they could support Renu emotionally. Gradually, the family rallied around Renu, offering her mental and emotional support. It was a pleasure for the home care team to see both Renu and her family feel comforted and supported.

Luckily for Renu, her brother-in-law and his wife, who live in a rented house, took up a house on rent near Renu’s house so they could also visit her frequently to support her.

As Renu stabilised, she started taking interest and initiative in discussing her medication options with the palliative care team. Together, they created a plan for using medication that focused on her side effects but didn’t slow her down.

The team nurse gave Renu a precise diet plan and taught her exercises to help her not get lymphedema.

With all this support, both Renu’s husband and her daughters could once again go back to work and the girls could concentrate on their studies. The faces of the family members started to look up, and they started greeting the home care team with big, welcoming smiles.

Soon enough, the coronavirus pandemic hit the country and a strict lockdown was placed. The team from CanSupport continued supporting Renu and the family through video calls, giving her hope, confidence, and medication advice.

Soon Renu completed her chemotherapy and has recovered from cancer. She is back to living her life as before.

We at CanSupport are happy that we could be part of Renu’s journey with cancer and could make that journey comfortable for her and her family.