When 44-year-old Venugopal fell ill with Bicytopenia (a reduction in the number of red and white cells) and Neutropenic Fever (abnormally high body temperature due to the low number of red and white cells), he was admitted to a hospital in Bangalore. However, the medical treatment administered seemed to have no effect on him, and weeks later, he was displaying the same symptoms just as acutely.
Worried doctors took a second round of tests and then the shocking truth was revealed; Venugopal had Leukemia.
An endless number of patients get diagnosed with cancer this way. The disease lurks, displaying only a few symptoms at first and hinting at other conditions. Emphasis has been made on the importance of early diagnosis; later the discovery, lower the chances of recovery. After timely diagnosis, the next challenge that is handed out to patients and their families is the expense of treatment. Multiple cycles of chemotherapy, antibiotics, a bone marrow transplant can come up to Rs 20-30 lakhs at quality healthcare facilities, at the very least.
This is where medical crowdfunding comes in. Rather than turning to risky funding solutions like loans, patients can collect contributions from a large number of people to raise the funds they need over a short period of time. Since the first crowdfunding platform launched years ago, thousands of low and middle income patients have been able to access healthcare solutions they need, raising crores of rupees in India alone. Underprivileged patients can now raise funds for an emergency medical situation in days or even overnight, and patients with chronic illnesses generally take a month or two to collect the funds they need.
Venugopal’s family was one with low income, and had already exhausted their savings on his previous treatment, the antibiotics he is currently on and hospital stay so far. He needed another Rs 20 lakhs to treat his Leukemia. Initially the sole breadwinner for their family, now Venugopal is left unemployed, prison to a hospital bed. His wife, a homemaker, and their little daughter await his recovery eagerly.
With the help of his supportive family and friends, has now turned to crowd fund with Impact Guru’s medical crowdfunding platform. Like many campaigners before him, he is able to tell his story on a user-friendly platform and share with his networks across social media like Facebook, Twitter and Whatsapp. He also takes other steps to increase his reach, like asking family and friends to create support fundraisers and sharing across their networks. Support Venugopal and many others like him through crowdfunding!
