Life at the end of the tunnel
With nearly 300,000 cases diagnosed each year among children aged 0-19 years, childhood cancer accounts for nearly 3-5 per cent of total cancer cases in India (according to WHO). To motivate and encourage the youngsters who have fought cancer and emerged as winners, CanKids, National Society for Change for Childhood Cancer, recently organised its 11th Annual National Childhood Cancer Excellence Awards 2019 at Lodhi Road, New Delhi.
Talking about his exceptional journey, 15-year-old, Sufiyan Nasir Chaudhary, a cancer survivor shares, “I was six years old when I got diagnosed with blood cancer. However, I have a hazy memory of the entire journey.
But now it makes me feel proud of myself. My parents were my biggest support during that journey.” Sufiyan dreams of a career in science and hopes to work for Google.
Mukesh Thakur, an 18-year-old cancer survivor, lives and breathes dance. He runs a dance
academy in Shahdara, where he teaches hip-hop. His journey was a difficult one. “I was diagnosed with blood cancer when I was seven years old. While I was getting treatment for cancer, simultaneously I got diagnosed with paralysis,” elaborates Thakur.
Having defeated both paralysis and cancer, he is now living his dream of being a a dancer.
The best strategy to reduce the burden of the disease is to focus on prompt and correct diagnosis followed by effective treatment. And these kids are living testaments of how there is life at the end of the tunnel.