How does Chai for Cancer make a Difference?

Chai for Cancer raises funds to support those seemingly insignificant needs of patients that come in the way of their accessing their lifesaving treatment and living as normal a life as possible.

Here are the stories of patients in whose life Chai for Cancer has made a big difference.

If you cannot be at an Adda you can simply raise your cup from where you are and donate online

Bikram’s story

On Feb 15 2024, International Childhood Cancer Day 2024, we launch our new story about Bikram in the “Why Chai for Cancer” series, beautifully showcased by artists Bob and Bobby aka Saswata Mukherjee Susruta Mukherjee.

“Equal access to care, the tag line of this year’s International Childhood Cancer Day should be the right of every child diagnosed with cancer. However, it is not as simple as that. As we all know the impact of childhood cancer translates into years of life lost and is fraught with all kinds of inequalities and financial trauma. Every normal aspect of childhood is denied to a little patient and this includes schooling too. There are numerous groups working tirelessly to ensure that this situation changes. From treating physicians and their team to Social Service departments in treating institutions to a large number of non profits and patient advocates working in this field. Of course it is never enough and there’s so much more to be done”, says Viji.

Ram Babu Mahato’s story

Viji Shares-

The hero of my story is Ram Babu Mahato who comes from a village in Bihar. For those of you who have been listening to me talk about this campaign all these years, Ram Babu’s is not an unfamiliar name. I have known him for over two decades and I have found myself referring to him whenever there is a need to illustrate various aspects of not just the fundraiser but the challenges a patient on life long treatment faces. Ram Babu was a young man when he was diagnosed 20 odd years ago with Chronic Myeloid Leukaemia. Thrown out of his job he was left with nothing with which to support his wife and three little children let alone seek treatment and take care of himself. That he has survived all hardships coming his way during this journey is reason enough to make him the hero of this story. But I will let you hear it through the art work and words of Bob & Bobby aka Saswata Mukherjee Susruta Mukherjee

Sudipa’s story

Here is the story of one such patient in whose life Chai for Cancer has made a big difference .
The story of young Sudipa, told to us by Susruta Mukherjee and Saswata Mukherjee aka Bob & Bobby .

One loving father’s story

What we at The Max Foundation hate to do is close a case. One of the most common causes for this is non compliance, which over the years we have come to realise, is that, access to treatment is nothing unless patients have the resources to do just that- Access treatment.

But patients keep falling off our radar and when we realise why it is so it truly saddens us. When we took this issue to the Trustees of Friends of Max it made them think hard too. I found the support I needed to put in place this simple fundraiser and awareness campaign so that patients who were also fathers and mothers, children and siblings, did not need to deny their family basic necessities, so that they could go collect their medication from their treatment centre.

This is the story of one loving father … a father first, then a cancer patient and it is also the story of many more like him. It is why Chai for Cancer, in its 10th year, needs your support.