“When the report came back, my wife and I were shocked! He was so healthy. This year he has not even had a fever and suddenly we are staring at the word, Lymphoma.”
8-year-old Mallikarjun’s parents felt like they were always on a joyous roller coaster ride trying to handle his mischief. Every day laughter filled the house when he unleashed one of his gimmicks on them until they noticed a tumor on him one day, and it turned out to be a symptom of blood cancer. As farmers, these parents are now struggling to save their son from the deadliest and most expensive disease.
I couldn’t believe my eyes when I saw the report
“I think it was around 7th September. He was perfectly alright before that. He woke up, was playing around the house before school, and suddenly, Malamma noticed a gadde (lump/tumor) on his belly button. We took him to a hospital nearby in Kalaburgi. They diagnosed it as a tumor and said we need to operate immediately.”
Parmanna and Malamma were worried about surgery, but they understood it as a harmless excision. After the excision, the doctor suggested a biopsy of the tumor. The report revealed that Mallikarjun has Non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma, a type of aggressive blood cancer that spreads fast. This shocked the family.
Cancer kills people like us because we cannot fight back
“I could not come to terms with it. They could not treat it at that hospital. So, they referred us to HCG in Gulbarga. Again, we had to get all the tests done. I was hoping we would get a different diagnosis but when the report confirmed cancer, my heart just stopped. He was perfectly fine! I can still not believe it has been killing him all this time!”
Parmanna has heard about cancer. Living in the village, he has lost friends and family to the disease because they have not been able to afford treatment. It has not just killed the patient but also affected families entirely because the fight has been painful emotionally, physically and financially, especially for someone with their background. He is worried for his little boy who is unaware of what is happening.
We cannot afford to fall sick, and now my son is fighting the deadliest disease
“I have two children. I take care of my family on an income of Rs. 100/day. My wife also works in the field with me. Sometimes we do not even have any work, so for days, there is no income. There are no savings for people like us. We do not fall sick either, we cannot afford to fall sick. Now, when my son is fighting this disease, I cannot afford to save him.”
How can you help
Mallikarjun’s cancer is at stage 4, and he needs chemotherapy to survive. The treatment is estimated to cost Rs. 4.5 Lakhs. The family exhausted their savings of Rs.20,000 on the tumor excision. Now, they feel helpless. The villagers are pitching in every Rs. 10 they can find to save the child.With your support, little Mallikarjun can beat the disease and live the life he deserves.
Supporting Documents
The specifics of this case have been verified by the medical team at the concerned hospital. For any clarification on the treatment or associated costs, contact the campaign organizer or the medical team.
Click here to contribute to Mallikarjun or for more details on this campaign.
