Swasti is a cheerful child who finds happiness in the little things. Whether it’s a walk in the park with her parents or the stories her grandmother tells her before bedtime, Swasti is happy just being around everyone she loves. “Her smile, it’s the one thing that can brighten up even the darkest of our days,” says Deepthi, Swasti's mother. “She’s very talkative and has so many stories to tell us. Somedays I forget how sick she is.” Swasti’s beautiful smile and her infectious laughter often hide her gruesome fight with cancer. She has already lost sight in her right eye to the disease and needs treatment to salvage her left eye.

“God has taken away her sight in one eye but has given her a very sharp mind. She always knows when we’re taking her to the hospital, she’s very sensitive to everyone around her. She hasn’t let cancer bring her down. There are days when she’s tired, and feels weak, but her ever-smiling face remains. We find strength in her resilience, but it can only get her so far.” – Deepthi, mother

What seemed like an insect bite turned out to be eye cancer

Swasti has retinoblastoma, an eye cancer that begins in the back of the eye (retina). She is terrified of hospitals and injections. Every time she’s placed on the hospital bed, she knows that the next few minutes are going to be painful for her. She shuts her eyes close, holds on to her father’s finger and refuses to open her eyes till Vivek assures her that there are no more tests for her.

“She was just a 1-month-old baby when we found out about her cancer. Her eyes appeared to be looking in different directions, and there was a swelling on her right eye. We thought something had bit her. Little did we know then that the next two years of her life would be consumed by this disease. “  - Vivek, father

The past two years have been an uphill battle

In the past two years, Deepthi and Vivek have been through a lot. They’ve somehow managed to get her treatment till now, but affording her chemotherapy further is not possible for them. They’ve spent nearly 5 lakhs. They have no savings left, and hardly anything to call their own.

“But our struggle is nothing compared to what our daughter is going through. She’s only 2 and has already been through 15 cycles of chemotherapy. What has she done to deserve this? Why must she go through all this pain for so long?” - Deepthi, mother

Without treatment, she will go completely blind – help her fight cancer

Swasti needs chemotherapy, without which, she risks losing her vision completely, losing her eyeball. Her cancer is an aggressive one which can spread to other parts of her body. Baby Swasti can get better, but her parents don’t have anything left to continue her treatment. Vivek works for a private company, and hasn’t been able to save anything since her diagnosis. Baby Swasti’s childhood has been consumed by cancer, but she smiles through the pain. She can live a pain-free life if she gets treated in time.

Together, we can save Swasti’s sight and life.