"I sleep in a small space near the pharmacy in the hospital. I go hungry most days as I know we cannot pay for both his treatment and our food together." - Asmita, mother

An injury during a game of cricket led to a deadly diagnosis

In December last year, 16-year-old Roshan was excited about returning to school after losing two years of his academic life to the Covid-19 pandemic. He had been prepared to start the upcoming school year with new books, stationery and a reinvigorated mindset to ace his studies. But, little did he and his poor parents know that cancer would come in the way of his dreams.

“Roshan was so happy about returning to his classmates and teachers. He had gone to play cricket with friends in the neighbourhood when a ball hit him on the cheek. We took him to a local hospital and got the wound dressed. But it never healed. Follow-ups at the same hospital revealed that he had blood cancer. We were so shocked.” - Asmita

Roshan is suffering from acute promyelocytic leukemia (APML) is a subtype of acute myeloid leukemia (AML), a form of cancer affecting the white blood cells. He is currently in the ICU and without continued treatment, he will not be able to survive.

They are doing everything they can…but it is not enough

Roshan’s parents, Asmita and Prakash, are both manual labourers who work at a farm in their village in Maharashtra’s Kolhapur. They earn a meagre income of Rs 2,000 a month, despite working hard. To save their son from the grips of cancer, they have travelled all the way to Mumbai and spent everything they had on his treatment so far.

“We have nobody in Mumbai to help us. We are doing everything on our own to keep him alive – we are begging everyone we know and trying to get loans, but to no avail. We are running out of money and hopes.” - Asmita

Roshan can live and fulfill his dreams with your help

Roshan and his elder brother Sahil have seen both their parents struggle all their lives. They have seen them forego meals and buying clothes for themselves, to make sure that their children get a relatively normal upbringing. Roshan needs chemotherapy along with antibiotics and supportive care for 30 more days to survive. 

“Both our children, especially Roshan, are brilliant in academics. Roshan has big dreams – he wants to secure a government job and free us from poverty. But now cancer is killing him and we worry if we can save him before it is too late.” - Asmita

With your help, he can beat cancer and become healthy again.