3 minute read
DHAIRYA CANCER FOUNDATION
SUPPORTING CANCER PATIENTS AND THEIR FAMILIES IN NEPAL
TRIGGER WARNING: SUICIDE. This piece discusses suicide and suicidal intentions which some people might find disturbing.
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When I was 18 years old, I came across a national news broadcast about a teenage boy who had taken his own life, jumping from a hospital building. He had been suffering from kidney cancer, and had left a letter to his mother mentioning that he did not want to burden his family. This news touched my heart, and a sense of inspiration grew inside me. I was determined to do something for cancer patients. However, I was confused about how I could help. I am from Nepal, a developing country where we do not generally get proper services from hospitals and there are no specific counseling centres.
During a trip to the United Kingdom, I attended an SDG conference which focused on the UN’s 17 goals where I chose SDG 3, Good Health & Well Being, and talked about the mental health of cancer patients. My eyes were opened to the way cancer sufferers and their families deal with the illness and the recovery process. I got the chance to learn that between 2005-09, cancer survival rates lagged ten years behind the rest of Europe, although survival rates continue to increase in the UK. I then thought of doing something in the course of preventative measures; treating mental illness of cancer patients and in turn improving the quality of life of our loved ones and reducing the burden on the healthcare system. From that experience and my curiosity onwards, I founded the Dhairya Cancer Foundation in Nepal in 2017. The name ‘Dhairya’ means hope and endurance, which often seems lost in cancer patients.
We have impacted the lives of 3,000 people, patients, schools, villages and government hospitals through the health programmes at DCF. Peer support programmes for cancer patients and survivors are facilitated by psychiatrists, with sessions involving shared experiences to help reduce mental pressure. We have also carried the cancer awareness programme to the rural community, and we are arranging delivery of personal hygiene products and education in various hospitals to cancer sufferers, free of cost. Art therapy for children with cancer has produced amazing results. During lockdown, we were able to source PPE and KN95 masks to help protect doctors and nurses at Kanti Children’s Hospital and the Teaching Hospital in Kathmandu, provided groceries to cancer patients, and gave woolen socks to children living with cancer. It is common for people receiving chemotherapy to suffer from constantly feeling cold, especially their feet, so our colourful socks help cancer patients cope with this.
Cancer problems, particularly in Nepal, are due to low income per capita ($1,071). The majority of Nepalese people are bound to struggle to afford cancer treatment in the absence of a proper health insurance system. At the same time, cancer patients are suffering from mental disorders because they lose hope. Due to the lack of mental health programmes, awareness programmes, ignorance about the disease, and its high treatment cost, numerous cancer patients choose to die by suicide in Nepal. But that is not the solution.
My ambition is that no cancer patient should have to sacrifice their life through mental illness. For this, I, along with my team at Dhairya Cancer Foundation, would be going ahead organising cancer awareness programme all over Nepal, as well as specific counseling for cancer centers. My next important dream is to build an affordable cancer hospital with a counseling center. I am passionate enough to make a difference. Where there is a will, there is often a way, and for me, this is just the beginning.
