41-year-old Shrikrishna Giri is a farmer by profession. Apart from working on his own one acre of land, he spends long hours cultivating on neighbouring fields. Everything that comes out of his field goes on to feed his family members. The extra 2000/month that he earns by working on the fields of others attempts to pay off school and college fees of his three kids.
Despite all the hardship, however, Shrikrishna never complained. That is, until the calamity struck in the April of 2017 and he was diagnosed with Hodgkins Lymphoma stage BE 4.
"I am the only earning member of the family. My son is in class 12 and two daughters in class 10 and class 8 respectively. I am just a poor farmer and don't understand how to deal with cancer. I am already so worried and now I have this sickness. I don't want to die, for my family's sake. I am all they have. I don't want my kids to grow without their father. I want them to get out of this poverty and have a bright future. I am afraid that if I die, they'll end up just like me", said Srikrishna.
It all started when Srikrishna began to find it difficult to go about his daily routine. He started developing high fever and complained of having unbearable pain in the neck joints. Slowly, it became impossible for him to carry out even the basic function like walking or eating. When he couldn't take the pain anymore, Shrikrishna decided to approach a local doctor.
After thorough consultations, he was diagnosed with cancer and was referred to Tata hospital in Mumbai - given his limited financial capabilities.
In past six months, Shrikrishna has spent close to 1.5 lakhs for his treatment. He had arranged for the funds by taking loans from his friends back in his village. Now he is in Mumbai with one of his relatives as he couldn't afford to bring any other family member here.
The doctors have scheduled Shrikrishna for 6 cycles of chemotherapy. The estimated cost of entire treatment is 2 lakhs. It is beyond his means to arrange for the funds.