Dealing with cancer is one of the most difficult things which affects a large number of people, which is a result of the ever-increasing incidences of cancer, as can be understood from the Crowdfunding India trends.
Here are a few things which constitute the daily life of an average cancer patient, though these, of course, vary depending on the patient and the type and stage of cancer.
- Depression: This is a part of any terminal disease, and most significantly of something as dreaded and difficult to get rid of as cancer. Chemotherapy, the most popular form of treatment, does little to help with the depression aspect. Unfortunately, this is also the most neglected aspect in a country which is reluctant in talking about mental health.
- Pain: Cancer patients experience a lot of pain, Both due to the cancer and due to the treatment procedures which work by killing off the cancerous cells, and at times, the healthy ones as well. For many, normal movement becomes really difficult, and even sleep patterns are affected.
- Loss of appetite: Cancer exhausts the body by its uncontrolled multiplication of cells. The medicines that are used to treat it lead to a loss of appetite and the feeling of nausea.
- Loss of libido: Cancer, depending on its location, can affect the reproductive organs. The treatment of cancer can affect the reproductive organs as well, leading to both temporary and permanent loss of fertility for those undergoing treatment. Chemotherapy and radiation therapy are especially difficult for pregnant women.
All these put a lot of pressure on the lives of the caregivers, who are not often considered when people think of cancer patients. Depression and the inability to get intimate often take a toll on the relationships with close ones, which is really hard to deal with since they are the people the patient needs the most.
Concessions for the effect cancer has on the daily lives of patients should be made in the crowdfunding campaign itself, which a lot of patients are actually resorting to in India in order to fund their treatment. There might be loss of jobs, requirement for nurses, long-term use of medicines and various other things which would need funds.