A father-son bond is unique and beautiful in its own way. Every father dreams of his child growing to become a talented individual and achieving immense success in life. But when he knows that his child is suffering with a rare type of cancer then he leaves no stone unturned to provide him the best possible treatment.
Similar is the case with now jobless, daily wage labourer Soumyajit Jana, father of four-year-old Khemraj. A happy and energetic kid, Khemraj complained of pain in his hands, legs and suffered constipation. Soumyajit consulted numerous doctors to get clarity on the diagnosis. After a few tests and scans, Khemraj, an avid ‘Chotta Bheem’ fan was diagnosed with Neuroblastoma stage 4, a rare type of aggressive cancer.
Neuroblastoma develops from immature nerve cells found in several parts of the body. It commonly affects infants and children below the age of five. “Khemraj has completed his chemotherapy, surgery and autologous bone marrow transplant. He is currently receiving radiotherapy. In order to complete cure, immunotherapy can be of immense help for such children. Dinutuximab Beta is such immunotherapy drug used in such conditions.” said Dr. Sunil Bhat, Director and Clinical Lead, Pediatric Hematology, Oncology and Blood & Marrow Transplantation, Mazumdar Shaw Cancer Center, Narayana Health City Bangalore.
Unfortunately, Khemraj’s prescribed medicine is manufactured outside India and hence needs to be exported. As per doctor’s prescription, he requires 21 vials which would cost approximately INR 1,16,00,000/-. A daily wage labourer earning INR 300 – INR 500, now unemployed for over 10 months, Saumyajit is facing a challenge to fund the treatment. Given Saumyajit’s dire financial conditions, he reached out to Impact Guru to help him raise funds for Khemraj via crowdfunding. As of 2nd May, 2023, Khemraj’s fundraising campaign has crowdfunded INR 6,36,224 with the help of 300 generous donors.
“At his age, he should be playing his favourite game, of hide and seek, with his friends. It pains my heart to see my child in this state. He is visiting hospitals and surviving on bitter medicines. I want to see him grow into a young man and lead a healthy life. Please help me save my child. Every donation will help us take a positive step towards ensuring that Khemraj receives treatment on time,” says Khemraj’s father. The family has hosted the fundraiser here – https://www.impactguru.com/fundraiser/help-khemraj-jana
