(By Russil) On Saturday April 6 I attended the Rhythms of India gala fundraiser, in support of the Two Worlds Cancer Collaboration. Two Worlds, led by Dr. Simon Sutcliffe, works with doctors and nurses in India, Nepal, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka to provide palliative care and pain management for patients with cancer, including children. In low-resource countries, not only are the odds of survival much lower than in Canada, but painkillers are not readily available.
One of the speakers at the event was Raheesa Jina, a student at UBC, who described her experience volunteering for two months at Chitwan Medical College in Bharatpur, Nepal. She’d like to raise awareness of how to help children in Nepal, and is interested in getting involved with TRAS.
Palliative care for children with cancer is not a feel-good cause, but definitely a worthwhile one. If you’re interested in attending the next Two Worlds fundraiser, they’re held every two years.
For an article discussing the need, see Palliative care in India: Visiting as a volunteer, from the Canadian Oncology Nursing Journal (Summer 2016).