Baby Sharath spent the evening of his very first birthday getting painful injections and tests. Instead of being surrounded by his family, balloons and gifts, he was in the hospital. Sharath was diagnosed with a cancerous tumour in his stomach after 3 days of fever in August last year. Santhosh and Sangeetha were so shocked and confused, that they almost refused to believe it the first time the doctor told them.

“We took him to 4 different hospitals after that, every week he underwent more tests and scans. All the test results were the same – our son has cancer. He's still cheerful and happy, and every time I see him playing with his mother, I worry if this would be the last time I'll see him smile.” – Santhosh, father

They couldn’t start his treatment for 7 months

After taking him to several hospitals, Santhosh and Sangeetha had no means to start his chemotherapy. Santhosh works as a delivery executive for a vendor that supplies to Flipkart and earns Rs. 3,000 per week. He has no savings and his family too couldn’t help immediately. It took them 7 months to be able to start his treatment.

“I’ve borrowed from my relatives and have spent 3 lakhs till now. He has completed one cycle of chemotherapy, he needs 5 more. I don’t think I can take him back to the hospital for the next cycle, I can’t afford it.”

The brave boy smiles through the pain of cancer

Despite the gruelling chemotherapy, Sharath stays happy. Even in the hospital, he smiles at everyone that comes to talk to him. However, his biggest fear is injections. Even the sight of it makes him cry in fear. Sharath is in a lot of pain, but he has remained strong and resilient so far. He needs chemotherapy and a surgery to fight cancer.

“I haven’t gone for work in a month. I returned to work yesterday, but I need 7 lakhs to save him. I won’t be able to earn that much even if I work all day all night. I need your help to save him.