Here's A Mumbai-Based NGO That Helps Children Fight Cancer With Proper Nutrition

The Indian Cancer Society has revealed that more than 50,000 children in India aged 0 to 19 years suffer from cancer. Even though most childhood cancers are curable with generic medicines, chemotherapy and radiation, only 15 to 45 percent of children can win over the disease in low and middle-income countries. On the other hand, more than 80 percent of children suffering from cancer recover in developed countries.

A child needs to have proper nutrition and a healthy diet to fight cancer. Moreover, they must be physically strong to endure the pain of radiation and chemotherapy. Unfortunately, about 40 percent of Indian children diagnosed with cancer are malnourished. Moreover, malnourished children are at a greater risk of infections, side effects, complications and treatment delays.

At such a point, Cuddles Foundation, which was conceived in 2013, comes into play by focussing on providing a chance to children fighting cancer in India and giving them a chance to get cured through holistic nutrition. With their Foodheals program, Cuddles Foundation helps address this problem in over 30+ government and charity cancer hospitals across 12 states in India. The program offers expert nutritional counsel and holistic food aid to underprivileged children fighting cancer.

A Chance Visit That Shaped Up Into A Cause

Cuddles Foundation was started when Purnota Dutta Bahl was on a visit to Tata Memorial Hospital. By chance, she happened to see the plight of the children battling cancer and their poor nutritional conditions. Although food is at the centre of every Indian family - in sickness and health, the thought that children couldn't fight disease because they didn't have the proper nutrition didn't sit right with her. Optimistic and driven, Purnota left her growing corporate career to focus on finding a solution to this problem. Self-study and several discussions with senior paediatric oncologists helped her create a blueprint for today's Cuddles Foundation.

Out of 50,000 children, only 15,000 receive holistic cancer treatment every year. The Foundation has a three-way approach to dealing with the crisis. Firstly, they work with government and charity hospitals to provide Paediatric Oncology Nutritionists. Secondly, they handpick and train a set of experts to help children battling cancer make wiser nutritional choices. Finally, the organization supports parents and children suffering from the disease by providing them with hot meals, dietary supplements, eggs, bananas and a monthly ration for a family of four.

COVID Impacted Access To Hospitals

In the Gratitude Report, Cuddles Foundation mentioned that the COVID-induced lockdown severely impacted patients' access to hospitals. Therefore, the children undergoing treatment had to delay their sessions, thus affecting their survival chances. The Foundation stepped in to provide teleconsultation to the children to ensure no delay in providing services even if they could not visit the hospital.

Several families lost their livelihoods during the pandemic, and the loss of jobs and the looming uncertainty further increased the financial burden for families with childhood cancer. Therefore, the Foundation further deepened its aid to cover as many patient families as possible, providing them with dry rations.

Cuddles Institute for Clinical Nutrition (CICN) also started to continue the training of their experts to ensure that there is no roadblock at any point in providing holistic nutrition to children. With the help of the Cuddles Foundation, over 80 per cent of children showed an increase in their nutritional status or maintained the same level of nutrition. Along similar lines, 94 per cent of the children battling cancer followed up with their first visit and continued with their treatment.

Most Prevalent Types Of Cancers

The Foundation has raised more than Rs 12 crores, which came through domestic contributions, while 8 per cent of the total donations came through foreign donations. In 2020-2021, the organization engaged with more than 6,000 children across their panel of over 30 hospitals. There were four main types of prevalent cancers, which included 28 per cent of the cases of Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, followed by 11 per cent of the cases of Precursor B-Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, B-cell Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia and Acute Myeloid Leukaemia. Amongst all the children, only 34 per cent of the patients were girls, whereas boys accounted for 66 per cent of the cases.

The Foundation distributed nearly 11,500 ration bundles, with 4,400 kilocalories in each bundle distributed to patient families. The efforts from the Foundation's funds added Rs 3,200 to the caregiver's savings every month.

The organization took account of how the child's health improved with proper nutrition by comparing their Body Mass Index (BMI) from their first and last visits and found that the BMI enhanced by 16 per cent on an average. In the annual impact report, Cuddles Foundation also mentioned that all caregivers opined that their knowledge about nutrition and cleanliness improved massively after receiving advice from the nutritionist.

All physicians noted that the health outcomes of their patients improved with the Cuddles nutritional support intervention. They stated that the treatment tolerance and compliance have increased and the quality of life of their patients. The nutritional impact of the program is visible in 1-3 months from initiation had been associated with the healthy support program for two years or more.

While several organizations are working toward providing proper nutrition to children battling life-threatening diseases, there is an urgent need for the public steps up to bridge the gap and provide holistic nutrition. Nonetheless, The Logical Indian salutes the spirit of the Cuddles Foundation and the work that they have done to help children battle cancer at a tender age and live their life to the fullest.

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