|
|
|
|
|
| July 03, 2000 | ||
|
|
MUMBAI,
MAHARASHTRA A former cancer patient brings hope to others afflicted with the disease By Natasha Israni
V-Care's services can be categorised under three heads: personal and family support; practical assistance; and information and education. Some of their activities include developing information brochures on types of cancers, diet tips, treatment methods, organising informal meetings for cancer battlers, ward visits, outings for patients, providing lists of blood donors, dharamsala addresses and trusts that provide financial aid. More importantly, V-Care volunteers are there to hold the patient's hand and say a soothing word when despair strikes. Having been through the same experience once, or having a close one who did, these selfless volunteers can be trusted. Like Gupta herself. In March 1993, she was diagnosed with Hodgkin's disease, a cancer of the lymphatic system which causes abnormal growth of lymphatic tissue. Doctors at the Tata Memorial Hospital put her on a chemotherapy course with powerful drugs, saying it was the only, though not guaranteed, way to treat her. But nothing had prepared her for the harsh side-effects -- nausea, throwing up and loss of appetite, ulcers, hair loss, skin discolouration, loss of weight and pus under the nails. As the chemotherapy progressed, Gupta tried finding out from her doctors ways of coping with the trauma of her treatment. They were not always of help, and she realised their workload was a reason for this. She then that with her own experience, she could provide this help to others. Her plans were not taken seriously by the doctors at first, but her enduring persistence finally wore them down. It took about a year for the spunky woman to be cured; she was then given some space on the 11th floor of the Tata Memorial Hospital to counsel cancer patients. From this tentative once-a-week effort, V-Care has grown into a 50-member voluntary organisation, working in four more hospitals -- Jaslok, Nanavati, Breach Candy and the Lady Ratan Tata Radiation Centre -- and two dharamsalas. Apart from individuals like Nana Chudasama, Sunil Dutt and Shobha De, a number of organisations are also involved with V-Care -- the Tatas, BPL, Tulsiani Trust, Mulvantrai Doshi Charitable Trust, Dorabjee Tata Trust, to name a few. This year, V-Care started a school for children at the Sant Gadge Maharaj Dharamsala, Dadar, where many outstation cancer patients come and stay. Child patients at the dharamsala as well as their siblings can join the school. Around 25 children attend the school every day. V-Care has also introduced a Cancer Survivor's Day on the second Saturday of each February when they celebrate the will to overcome and emphasise there is a life after cancer. The Survivor's Day celebrations are getting bigger, and this year Victory Awards were given to three former cancer patients whose lives serve as an inspiration to others. With a courageous woman at its helm, V-Care looks set to change even more lives for the better. |
|
||||
| Top |
 © Living Media India Ltd |
Think
of a person afflicted with cancer, and the image you would probably have
is of one person's almost unendurable personal suffering, the fighting of
a long, lonely and painful battle with bleak prospects ahead. For the few
who by some grace manage to pull through, the ordeal is something to be
forgotten. Vandana Gupta, 49, of Mumbai once went through this difficult
phase herself. But after she successfully came out of it, she chose to
look back, and got involved in helping people who had cancer. Today she
runs a support group for cancer patients in Mumbai called V-Care (the V
standing for victory), balancing it with her job at a firm that oversees
the maintenance of company guest houses.
V-Care
consists mainly of cancer survivors, or people who have had friends and
relatives with cancer. They try to give cancer patients them a shoulder to
lean on and make them feel there are others who have successfully coped
with the disease. V-Care's mission is to provide total support and the
encouragement to people diagnosed with cancer and their loved ones so that
they can fight to recover. Its services are free and easily accessible.