The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : To battle cancer is their motto

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Sunday, Feb 26, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

To battle cancer is their motto

Special Correspondent

CHENNAI: In 2004, 15 people afflicted with cancer came together to establish a support team to fight the disease. The organisation, V CanHelp, has waged a war against cancer for over two years and will celebrate its second anniversary on February 26.

Over these years, the V CanHelp Trust has helped ameliorate the suffering and financial strain on cancer-afflicted people, belonging to the lower economic strata. A part of their medical expenses, in the form of hospital bills or drugs, will be borne by the organisation.

The Trust identifies such patients and makes direct payments to the hospital on their behalf. The trust members also counsel the patient's family members, conduct awareness and detection camps and take cancer education to schools.

Joy Mathews, the Trust president and a cancer survivor, says the idea to float the trust was formed after the 1954-60 alumni batch of Madras Christian College School pitched in to help him fight cancer in the bone marrow.

Since its inception, it has helped more than 77 cancer patients, focussing on children with treatable leukaemia and breadwinners of families.

"One beneficiary has graduated in engineering and is now placed with a software company," Mr. Mathew adds. Now, trust members plan to open chapters of V CanHelp in Bangalore, Kochi and Hyderabad, start a palliative care centre and train youth to nurse cancer patients at home.

The trust gets its funds from well wishers, organisations and corporates by way of advertisements, donations and charity shows.

Donations can be made by either cheque or demand draft in the name of V CanHelp, payable in Chennai.

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