Mamata*, a forty-five-year-old housewife, lives with her husband, three children and in-laws in Ajancur Taluk of Tikamgarh District, Madhya Pradesh. She helps her husband in the fields. Her work is hard and tiring but she does it to educate her children and give them a way out of their miserable existence. Mamata’s life took a sudden turn for the worse when she discovered a hard lump in her right breast. Troubled by the lump, she went to the local quack who assured her she would be healed in a matter of weeks.
She went about her daily routine with little knowledge of the gravity of the situation. After a month, when the lump grew in size, she became anxious and visited a hospital in Tikamgarh. There she was diagnosed with breast cancer and was advised surgery at Rs. 1 lakh. For a family that existed hand to mouth on a monthly income of Rs. 6000, spending such an amount on surgery was out of the question. Mamata and her family reconciled to her fate thinking that God must be punishing her for bad karma. Mamata was only worried about her children–about who would take care of them after her demise.
Life took a U-turn when her neighbours informed Mamata of the arrival of the Lifeline Express at Tikamgarh Railway Station. The world’s first hospital on a train had a new cancer screening coach–thanks to the equipment donated by Cognizant Foundation. She was operated on the Lifeline Express for breast cancer at no cost. Mamata is doing well now and is looking forward to her future with hope.
* Name changed to protect patient privacy
The Foundation has supported the following non-profit organisations rendering quality cancer care to many like Mamata
- Cancer Institute, Adyar–partnership with Rotary Club of Madras Temple City, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
- Lifeline Express, Impact India Foundation, Mumbai, Maharashtra
- Prashanti Cancer Care Mission (PCCM), Pune, Maharashtra
- Sri Sankara Cancer Foundation, Bengaluru, Karnataka
- Udavum Ullangal, Chennai, Tamil Nadu
