Sanjay - Diagnosis: Ewings Sarcoma. (The patient's name has been changed to protect his identity) Sanjay, a 26 year old construction worker from Bihar, sold all his land in order to travel to Delhi and try to find a cure for his cancer. He came from a family of poor peasants and had a wife and child to support. Sanjay was suffering from Ewings sarcoma, a painful and aggressive cancer of the bone that affects mostly young people. Initially he was treated at the Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital (IRCH) at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences. The medicines needed for his chemotherapy were expensive and over a period of time all his savings had been spent on treatment. Unfortunately Sanjay's cancer was too advanced for a cure to be possible and soon the active treatment was no longer helping him. He was referred to the Pain Clinic where he was introduced to the CanSupport Home Care Team. Patients for whom the effort of attending the clinic becomes too much due to pain or other distressing symptoms are offered continuing care at home under the home care service. It is free of cost and most patients are visited each week. Sanjay was taken on as a home care patient in April 1999. Sanjay had joined his brother living in a slum type dwelling in the outskirts of Delhi. The sole income for the new joint family was derived from his brother's tiny plot where he grew plants for sale, cycling all over Delhi to raise a few rupees daily. The team visited Sanjay each week monitoring his pain and adjusting his medication as the pain worsened. He was prescribed oral morphine which is provided free of charge at IRCH, however other essential drugs had to be purchased. It was a struggle to survive and CanSupport were happy to supply his medicines free of charge as well as some food parcels to supplement the family's meagre lader. As his disease progressed, the team was able to give emotional support to Sanjay and his family, explaining how the disease was progressing and what the future held in terms of his illness. He was encouraged to return to Bihar to see his wife and child and a couple of months later all three returned to Delhi. By this time intractable pain wracked his entire body, he had a cancerous sore that required regular dressings as well as fading appetite and emotional distress knowing that he was dying. The home care team made more than 25 visits to try and bring some support and comfort to Sanjay and his family. Each time his continuing care was reviewed with his wife and sister-in-law who were the chief carers. They were taught how to do the dressings, give medicines and handle other symptoms as they arose. We believe that with the home care team visiting regularly the family were able to cope and keep Sanjay with them until he died. Slowly developing a relationship of trust with the team. Sanjay and his family gradually came to realise that he could not be cured and accepted that his illness was a terminal one. The team cared for Sanjay for eight months. When the team made their final bereavement visit his brother said, " We can never forget what you did for us. You mean more to us than any member of our family". We look forward to renewing our ties with Sanjay's family at our annual remembrance gathering. Read Next Story? If you want to know how you can help people like Sanjay, please email us at info@cansupport.org