"Baba, my hair is coming out... Make it stop! Why is my hair coming out?"
It was a subdued day in the Ghosh household last month when little Arkan asked his father that question, a clump of hair in his small fist, fear in his eyes. Try as he might, Sukanto had been unable to answer him. And how could he?
His 8-year-old had cancer. He needed chemotherapy to live, even if it made him completely bald...
On 17th February Arkan woke up with a cold and cough. When over-the-counter medication didn't work, Sukanto and Kabita took their little son to a local clinic, who suggested they just let the sickness pass through his system. But when days turned into weeks and the illness persisted, the worried couple took their son to a city doctor, hoping they might be able to finally figure out what little Arkan was suffering from. Then they could get him treated, and things would go back to normal.
They were terrified it might be dengue and left stunned when it was cancer
"The doctor told us that Arkan needed a dengue test. We had been terrified because we'd heard of dengue, and knew how easily it could kill people, especially children. When the reports came back and said it wasn't that, we had been happy but confused. If it wasn't dengue, what was it? A few more tests and we got our answer. Our little boy had cancer and it was killing him! He needed urgent chemotherapy to slow it down." — Kabita
He's in constant pain, he can't even eat — he needs regular chemotherapy to recover
Arkan was diagnosed with Acute Myeloid Leukemia, a rapidly progressing cancer of the blood cells. Little Arkan is constantly tired and has severe body aches. He gets frequent fevers and has extremely painful mouth ulcers that prevent him from being able to eat. The poor boy has to be fed through tubes. He needs a year of regular chemotherapy to get cured of his cancer, but Sukanto can't afford the expense.Sukanto cannot afford his son's life-saving chemotherapy, he's already in debt
"I was able to afford one round of chemotherapy for him by borrowing money, and by mortgaging a small ancestral piece of land that my family has. I'm just an electrician! There is no way I can afford 8 lakhs in time, but I don't want to lose my son. Please, he's our only child. Please imagine yourselves in our shoes and donate as much as you can." — Sukanto
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