Who will listen to our cry ?

I am a cancer survivor living with Multiple Myeloma. I am so lucky to count two years since my Bone Marrow Transplant in India, many others like me have not been lucky,they live no more.

In the recent past in a span of 3 months I lost 18 patients and friends who succumbed to cancer. I personally interacted with them and made efforts in some ways to save their lives but I was defeated by this cruel menace .This is unimaginable and quite devastating.

My heart deeply griefs for those departed souls, their families and for their loved ones,the gaps they left behind? This devastating disease continues to affect the foundation of our society, the family, in ways we cannot imagine. This silent and quick killer continues to turn wives into widows and husbands into widowers, children into orphans ,and families without bread winners. It continues to impoverish families due to high cost of treatment yet we lose the battle at the end ,for those of us living with the cancer in developing countries the cost of treatment is beyond reach for many of us. I just cannot describe the pain,the struggle and the burden we have to bear each day from this merciless killer.

The financial burden and toxicity that many patients experience causes stress and depression affecting their recovery. The isolation by family members and friends and the stigma is getting worse . Cancer continues to cause great social,economic and psychological impacts to the patients in our society.

Who will listen our cry ?