Akash, once a happy and bright kid, is often frowning and throwing tantrums. He loves to draw and paint. He doesn’t want to do that in the hospital though. Take me back home, I’ll draw there, he says.

“He wasn’t like this before. He was such a happy kid. Now, he knows that something is not alright with him although he doesn’t understand what cancer means. He is irritated with the treatment and medicines. He is angry that we are not taking him back to our home where he can play with his friends.” – Lalitha. Mother.

“A year ago, my son Akash had a high fever and complained of joint pain. We took him to a local hospital in a small town in West Bengal. The doctors there said we had to take him to a bigger hospital as this was not normal fever. We were really worried about the cost to go to the city but we managed somehow. What we heard there was worse than all our other worries - our son has blood cancer. Our shock was beyond words.” - Ashwatosh, father

Ashwatosh used to work as a coolie in a small town. Now, he has traveled far to get the best treatment for his only son who has been diagnosed with Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia. Akash needs to undergo chemotherapy and then a bone marrow transplant. This will cost around Rs. 25 lakhs.

“I feel helpless as I cannot afford such a huge amount. I am working as a night watchman near the hospital to take care of the daily expenses. I’m unable to do anything beyond that to save my son. I really don’t know how to save my son, who is all that we have. ”  - Ashwatosh.