Beating cancer: Hearkids’ survival stories

Lucknow: The happiness of celebrating their daughter Sweksha's first birthday had barely settled when her parents were bothered by her low-grade fever and cranky behaviour. The treatment began, but relief remained afar. Contrarily, the baby's belly began to swell.
Result of a whole abdomen ultrasound broke the bad news – the baby had a cancer called Wilms Tumour.The fear of losing their baby left the parents shattered, but the attending doctor told them there was chance for their daughter's survival. The baby girl first underwent surgery for removal of tumour, which was followed by chemotherapy. In 2004, Sweksha went to her preschool, and 20 years later, she is pursuing master's in sociology. Though her years in between threw up challenges (like relapse and bouts of infections), the girl lends face to the fact that over 80% of childhood cancers are curable. She also spells hope for over 50,000 children across India who are diagnosed with cancer every year.
To spread awareness about the cause, non-profit organisations CanKids-KidsCan, DigiSwastha, and Apollo Hospital have come together. Beginning Sunday, they will hold a month-long activity called Sankalp – Cancer ko Haraana Hai (Pledge to Beat Cancer) to ensure timely diagnosis and treatment of childhood cancers. "Efforts led by cancer survivors like Sweksha aim to make critical medical care affordable and accessible to children, not leaving anyone out, as lack of awareness, stigma, and poor access to supportive and diagnostic care that prevents about 60% of the children affected from making it to a cancer centre," said AP Maheshwari, advisor DigiSwastha and former Indian Police Service officer.
MD and CEO Apollo Hospitals Lucknow, Dr Mayank Somani, said the burden of cancer in children is believed to be higher than what the number shows.