Fighting Childhood Cancer

India has the highest number of childhood cancers in the world. 

Survival is heavily dependent on where the child lives. Children from western countries have a 90% survival rate compared to India’s 60-70% survival rate. 

70,000 cases of childhood cancers are reported every year across India. Many children from rural areas don’t even receive a proper diagnosis due to the lack of hospitals and treatment centers within these rural areas. 

If somehow parents from these locations find out that their child has cancer, they then have to worry about how they will fulfill all the financial requirements for the treatment and care of their beloved child. Most low-income families put everything they have together and yet do not have enough money and energy to complete the treatment and care for their children. 

A large number of children lose their chance to survival, not because their parents don’t have money at all. It is because they don’t have ENOUGH money and energy to complete the treatment. It is a difficult and very emotionally draining journey for parents and the affected child.

Aroh partners with such families to bridge the gap and handhold children and their parents to the finish line. Team Aroh has team members present at over 50+ hospitals in India to provide support to children and families from low-income communities.

• Parents struggle to make decisions due to fear and don’t know how childhood cancer can be treated. Fear and depression handicap them.
• Lack of treatment centers close to home
• High treatment costs for low-income families to manage.
• Not knowing the difference between the bare minimum and good quality treatment
• Having a child in the hospital means 1 family member cannot work 
• Post-treatment nutrition and care are expensive
• Rehabilitation and Education for affected children and siblings

• Educating the parents about cancer and encouraging them on how treatment can be very effective. Aroh's team members constantly provide psychosocial support to the entire family.
• Enabling them with transportation support so the child’s treatment is constant. 
• Covering costs for the diagnostics and treatment of the child. (Investigation/Scan support/ Chemotherapy treatment/ Radiation/ Medicine Support) relieves the burden of the family.
• An Aroh team member in each hospital ensures good quality treatment is provided and the family has constant help to navigate through this difficult period and process. 
• Food support for family members who stay at the hospital with their child. While the child gets food from the hospital the parent has to spend money they don’t have to eat every day. 
• Post-treatment nutrition is as important as the treatment itself. We make sure that these children receive continuous proper nutrition and we support the family with grocery kits as well.
• Families usually give up everything they have to save their children. To make sure these children can be rehabilitated into a normal life we make sure they can go back to school. This also includes supporting the education of the siblings in the family who silently suffer in the background.

• Knowledge about the disease helps the parents to make educated decisions on their child’s treatment. This also ensures involvement in the treatment. They never feel alone.
• Every child gets quality treatment and there is no abandonment of treatment.
• With medical help, each child gets complete treatment and has a better chance of survival.
• Parents feel supported emotionally and financially through this process and don’t give up
• Affected children and their siblings continue to enjoy proper education and nutrition
• Families receive long-term support to enable their transition back into their lives again.