Every individual who is battling the disease is a cancer survivor. If you have a positive attitude, half your battle is won

To countless cancer patients, V Care is the constant reassurance that life can get better. Dealing with the grim fears that the illness creates, the Mumbai-based organisation provides an invaluable lifeline for those in their fight towards recovery. Its unwavering founder, Vandana Gupta, a cancer survivor herself, shows SHRADDHA JAHAGIRDAR-SAXENA how she, and her band of volunteers, help individuals cope with the calamity

The eight-year-old boy slouches in the metallic chair in a corner of the hospital canteen, toying with the food on his plate. His anxious mother continues to cajole him, but to no avail. A pony-tailed, middle-aged woman, clad in a simple sari and a white apron, hears the conversation and sits besides the boy. In soft tones, she talks to him: “You have to take your medicines to get well, right?” The boy nods his head at the familiar figure. “Then why don’t you eat your food?” “I am not hungry,” he replies. She strokes his bald pate and adds, “You must go back to school soon to catch up with your work and meet your friends. This is just like your medicine, eat it up quickly. You will try, won’t you?”

Launched by Gupta, V Care – phonetically “We Care” (exemplifying Victory over Cancer) is dedicated to providing free, total support to those afflicted by the disease, so that their loved ones can receive the hope and encouragement that they need, to sustain their fight for recovery and maintain their overall quality of life.

Looking back at her own brush with cancer, Gupta admits that cancer breeds fear and despair mainly due to the misconceptions prevalent in the minds of people. “I am an educated woman, but even I was terrified when I learnt that I was suffering from a form of cancer. I used to worry time and again about how many years I had left,” she flashbacks. To dispel disinformation, V Care publishes a newsletter and pamphlets. “We are constantly answering questions – in person, on the phone or at ‘drop in’ meetings – and allaying patients’ fears…something even as small as ‘If I sleep in the same room as my children, will they catch the disease?’”

Gupta spends most of her time at the hospital, and also at the seven major hospitals that she and her team routinely visit. They interact with support groups in other cities to provide a vital network of information and healthcare. Their concern and commitment is evident through their tone, attitude…and smiling attention. Any wonder then, that the organisation is called ‘V Care?’

Contact information:

V Care Foundation, Room
No 183, Golden Jubilee Block,
Tata Memorial Hospital, Parel,
Mumbai 400 012. India.

Tel: (022) 24177000.
Email: vcare24@hotmail.com.
Website: www.vcareonline.org