Six-years old, and battling cancer, heart disease, and extreme poverty

The story of a little child and her family as they deal with cancer and congenital heart disease of the young patient.

We all know that children living with cancer is an acutely difficult and heart-breaking life situation. Both the child and the parents suffer as they go through the disease and its treatment together.

What is even more difficult is to have cancer as a child and be living in impoverished circumstances. Your parents do not have the money to afford your treatment, hospitals are far away, your house is all of one room that also serves as the kitchen, bedroom, and living room for your entire family, and there are no toilets.

Six-year-old Kavita is living one such life.

The youngest of four children, she suffers from retinoblastoma with suspected Tetralogy of Fallot, a condition that requires prolonged treatment and repeat surgeries.

To have favourable odds against such a serious illness and long treatment process, Kavita needed the best of everything. Her parents, sadly, are not in any position to provide her the comfort and medical attention that she requires. The child’s father works as a rag-picker—whose income is unreliable and paltry at the best of times. Kavita’s mother stays at home looking after her four little children.

The Ganga Prem Hospice support for Kavita has gone far beyond offering palliative care. It has included providing the child and her family with food supplies, medicines, clothing, education supplies, fortified milk, ambulance rides to and from hospital, financial assistance for hospital treatment, interceding with oncologists and hospitals for giving the child special attention, and continued counselling of the parents that they should actively pursue treatment for their youngest daughter.

As it is with any child facing cancer, Kavita’s treatment and life have had their ups and downs. She often suffers from fever, vomiting, pain, and infection. At these times, the Ganga Prem Hospice home care team manages her symptoms, and advises the parents to seek hospital admission.

The coronavirus lockdown has not been an easy time for anybody. Not in the least for cancer patients like Kavita who are unaware of what is going on, what risks the virus poses for them, and how they can protect themselves.

Even so, Kavita remains a very playful and active child. She stays happy, and when in any distress, she clearly articulates where she has pain and how she is feeling, making the Ganga Prem Hospice team marvel at the child’s intelligence in expressing herself.

Update: November 20, 2020

Little Kavita comes to Ganga Prem Hospice

Little Kavita comes to Ganga Prem Hospice

After spending a few days at a cancer hospital near Dehradun, six-year-old Kavita was brought to Ganga Prem Hospice on November 11, 2020. Her cancer is advanced, and she is mostly in a semi-conscious state, but with no apparent sign of pain.

The hospice team is ensuring that the child is kept most comfortable and as symptom-free as possible. Kavita’s mother is with her, while Kavita’s three older sisters and father are at their home.

On November 17, Kavita’s sisters (all children aged under ten) came to visit her at Ganga Prem Hospice. It was a happy few hours with lots of hugs and kissed exchanged among the children. Kavita cannot use her sight much but was able to tell her sisters apart from their voice.

The little visitors enjoyed freshly cooked food at the hospice and went back home happy.

Update: November 26, 2020

Little Kavita passed away peacefully at Ganga Prem Hospice on November 26, 2020, with her mother by her side. She was not in any pain or distress.