The Only Thing That Comforts This 7-Year-Old During Chemotherapy Are His Grandpa's Stories

For 7-year-old Kamal, the only time he feels happy in the cancer ward is when his grandfather comes to visit him. The entire day he keeps asking Noor (Kamal's mother) when his grandfather will come. His grandfather often tells him stories of people who have fought more severe difficulties in life. After patiently listening to his grandpa, Kamal tells him, 'Tell Ma not to cry, I will be fine soon.' Little Kamal doesn't know he's fighting deadly cancer and his brave thoughts are not enough to save him.


Kamal with his mother and grandfather

Kamal lived happily with his parents Noor and Haider in the small town of Asansol, West Bengal. Haider works in a small pharmacy and earns about Rs 150-200 per day. On some days he even earned Rs 50 per day. But even with the modest income, the family lived happily. They neither complained nor demanded more. 

“A month back when my son had a fever, we didn’t pay much heed. The local doctor gave him some medicines and I thought he would be fine. Being so poor we couldn’t even imagine that such a fatal disease will affect our son and leave us miserable. When we noticed that even after a week, his fever didn’t reduce, we took him to the doctors. After a few tests, what the doctors told, left me in shock,” - Noor.

Little Kamal has been diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia, a form of blood cancer. The place where they live lacks the facilities to treat cancer. Haider and Noor had to travel to Kolkata to start their son's treatment. Doctors suggested that Kamal needs to undergo chemotherapy to stay alive. 

“After finally finding a hospital in Kolkata that could treat my son, I felt a little relieved. But I am worried if we will be able to pull this through. Whatever the doctors are saying, we are doing it. We are not even thinking where the money will come from. We are in so much debt that my husband, Haider can’t be with our son at the hospital now. Even in this condition, he has to continue working. I don’t even understand how we landed in this condition."- Noor

An older picture of Kamal with his parents

Kamal’s father is forced to stay away from him, but even that’s not enough now

Haider travels 200 km every 2-3 days to see his son and has to return on the same day. The parents are struggling and they fear their son will not be able to make it.

“My son had big dreams. He loves cycling and playing cricket. He wants to grow up and become a sportsman. I knew Haider and I would probably never be able to fulfill his dreams. But even with Haider’s minimum income, we were trying our best to do everything for him. My son’s cancer has taken away the little hope we had for his future.”

The family can’t even afford meals properly, affording Kamal’s treatment is beyond their reach

Noor and Haider have spent Rs 1 lakh so far. They have spent everything they had and have borrowed a lot from their relatives. If Haider stays with his son in the hospital and fails to work even for a day, his family might not get a day's meal. In such a condition, arranging Rs 8.5 lakhs for his chemotherapy is just impossible for them.

How you can help

7-year-old Kamal is suffering from blood cancer. His mother stays with him in the hospital while his father is struggling very hard to get funds for his treatment. If Kamal doesn’t get his treatment started as soon as possible, it will be difficult to save him.

Your support will help little Kamal battle cancer.

Supporting Document

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.

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