“He keeps saying ‘Appaji, it’s hurting too much please take me home’. I can’t even carry him without causing him unbearable pain. Sitting, walking and even sleeping makes him cry in pain. His stomach has swollen to the size of a football now. He needs treatment before the tumour grows and kills him."

Just one month after Prasanna and Hemavathi celebrated the birth of their twin girls, their 2-year-old was diagnosed with cancer. What started as a mild stomach ache quickly escalated to an agonizing pain for Pavan who only pleads for the pain to go away every day. The smile that once lit up their home has been wiped out. Pavan’s tumour above his left kidney will grow rapidly without a surgery and bone marrow transplant. He has little time without treatment, and miles away from his home and job, Prasanna struggles to find a way to save him.

The unbearable pain of cancer that makes baby Pavan cry every day is only increasing

Prasanna can’t carry Pavan for more than two minutes now. His stomach pains so much that he asks him to put him down. Pavan has been in discomfort for 3 months and his suffering seems unending.

"The swelling in his stomach is only increasing. When his chemotherapy began, the swelling reduced a little. But now it’s worse than ever. We’re still waiting for reports to find out why it’s happening. He cries all the time, and nothing makes him feel better. He used to love going on the bike with me and playing outside, but now he can barely sit without being in pain, let alone go outside to play.”

Pavan has neuroblastoma which is cancer found in the small glands on top of the kidneys. Pavan now needs injections for five days to help reduce the swelling in his stomach, after which, he will need a surgery to remove the growing tumour above his left kidney. Pavan will also need a bone marrow transplant. Pavan’s pain can finally end with timely treatment, but the heavy burden of his medical bills is far more than what Prasanna can carry on his own.

Pavan’s mother doesn’t know he’s fighting cancer

“My wife is in our village with our 4-month-old twin girls. I haven’t told her that our little boy has cancer because she won’t be able to handle it. She’s still physically and mentally vulnerable after the delivery. The news of his cancer will break her completely. She calls me at least thrice a day to find out about Pavan. I’ve told her that it’s a stomach infection and that he’ll be fine in no time, but now I'm scared that I'm giving her false hope. If I can't afford treatment, she won't make it.”

His father can’t save him on the income of a taxi driver

Prasanna stays with Pavan in the hospital all day. Ever since his treatment started, his only thought is to save his little boy from the dreadful clutches of cancer. But Prasanna is now running on only a few 100 rupees. He hasn’t gone back to his taxi driver job in 2 months now and the 2 lakhs he had borrowed from friends and family is almost over. He has nothing left to continue his chemotherapy and afford the tumour removal surgery that is so crucial to Pavan’s survival.

How You Can Help

There’s no escape for Pavan from the pain of cancer without chemotherapy, surgery and a bone marrow transplant. Prasanna, a driver, cannot arrange for Rs. 21 lakhs to save his son on his meagre income. Without treatment, Pavan’s cancer will rapidly spread and he won’t make it.

 Only timely treatment can give little Pavan a pain-free, healthy life. Your contribution can help him beat cancer.