YouWeCan Foundation, the non-profit organization founded by international cricketing icon and cancer survivor Yuvraj Singh, has supported the treatment of 22 paediatric cancer patients in the last one year through the YouWeCan Cancer Treatment Fund programme. This initiative was supported by Smiths Group India, which donated over INR 25.5 Lakhs towards this cause. Till date, YouWeCan Foundation has supported 143 paediatric cancer patients through this programme, of which 62 patients were supported in the last one year with the support of multiple donors.

Regarding the YouWeCan Cancer Treatment Fund for Paediatric Patients, Yuvraj Singh said, “The treatment process for cancer is hard to see, especially for young children and their families. The journey towards recovery drains them physically, emotionally and financially. The YouWeCan Cancer Treatment Fund is an initiative to ease the financial burden of the families that are unable to afford the expensive treatment. I would like to thank Smiths Group India, which supported our initiative in 2021-22 and helped us scale it up considerably. Going forward, we aim to offer financial support to around 1,000 paediatric cancer patients annually through this programme.”

YouWeCan Cancer Treatment Fund for Paediatric Patients provides financial assistance of eligible cancer patients to a maximum limit of INR 3 Lakhs per patient. Only patients belonging to underprivileged backgrounds, who are below 18 years of age, are eligible to receive support under this programme. Through the Fund, the entire cost of treatment of shortlisted patients is supported as per the treatment plan of the hospital, including diagnostic tests, investigations, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgery and cost of medication. To ensure transparency and to maintain strong financial control, funds are disbursed directly to hospitals and not to the beneficiaries. 

Sandeep Bhatia, Finance Controller, Smiths Group India, said, “We at Smiths believe in doing business responsibly and help communities around us. We are thankful to YouWeCan for giving us this opportunity to make a difference to a few lives that we touched through our partnership. Going forward, we hope to inspire real action from government authorities in addressing the inequities in cancer diagnosis, treatment and care, which unfortunately largely affects the most vulnerable populations in our country. Smiths is committed to being a good local neighbour and we will continue to highlight the need for urgent action to increase early-stage cancer detection, screening, and diagnosis to significantly improve cancer patients’ chances of survival via our interventions with likeminded partners like YouWeCan.”

For this initiative, YouWeCan Foundation partners with eminent cancer hospitals across the country, which have state-of-the-art facilities for medical oncology, surgical oncology and radiation oncology. A MoU is executed between both the organisations, post that the partner hospitals refer eligible patients to the Foundation for financial support. All medical services related to the treatment of patients are provided directly by the hospitals. Partner hospitals further extend their support to this initiative by providing a 100% waiver of room rent charges and doctor's consultancy fees. 

While sharing her experience, Priyanka Devi, the mother of Naman Mondal, a 12-year-old boy from Darbhanga in Bihar who is suffering from Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, said, “I am a single parent and work as a cook. When I got to know about my son’s condition, I was devastated and could not believe that my child could suffer from cancer at such a young age. My family supported me completely and I gradually came out of the shock with a determination to fight for my son’s life. At present, Naman is going through chemotherapy and is doing well. I want to thank Mr. Yuvraj Singh and his Foundation because they have helped us in a very critical situation and have been our constant support through thick and thin.”

Sunitha Braganza, the mother of 17-year-old Tanya Braganza from Bengaluru in Karnataka, who was one of the beneficiaries of YouWeCan Cancer Treatment Fund in FY 2021-22, said, “We got to know that our daughter is suffering from Orbital Rhabdomyosarcoma in October 2021 and even today, I find it hard to believe whenever I recall that moment. I am an assistant makeup artist and my husband works in a poultry farm. So, the treatment expense was a major concern for us. I came to know about Mr Yuvraj Singh’s Foundation through Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital in Bangalore. I want to thank the Foundation because when we had no one to help us in our difficult times, this Foundation supported us immensely. Thanks to them, today my daughter is undergoing chemotherapy and radiation sessions and I can once again look forward to seeing her realize her dream of entering the field of computer applications.”

About YouWeCan Foundation

YouWeCan Foundation was founded by Yuvraj Singh in 2012 to empower people to fight cancer through Cancer Screening Programmes, Cancer Awareness Programmes, YouWeCan Cancer Treatment Fund and YWC Scholarship for Cancer Survivors. Till date, 1,50,000 people have been screened by the Foundation for different types of cancer, 1,25,000 students have been sensitized in anti-tobacco workshops, 30,000 women have been sensitized on self breast examination and 24,000 men have been counselled for tobacco cessation. Moreover, 150 cancer survivor students have been supported through the YouWeCan Scholarship and 143 people have been supported through the YouWeCan Cancer Treatment Fund. In October 2021, YouWeCan Foundation launched the ‘Swasth Mahila, Swasth Goa’ initiative in partnership with the SBI Foundation and the Government of Goa. Under this initiative, free breast cancer screening will be done for 1 lakh women in Goa over the next two years, thereby ensuring that 50% of the age eligible female population in the state is screened.

About Smiths Group India

Smiths Group, with its rich legacy of over 170 years, has been creating new opportunities, supporting customers and communities, and improving lives and livelihoods in India for almost three decades. With its focus on smarter local engineering and manufacturing, Smiths Group has been a key ally to the country’s ‘Make in India’ initiatives. Over the years, Smiths India has been strengthening its commitment to the India region by growing investment, fostering innovation, enhancing skill development, and augmenting it’s best-in-class manufacturing infrastructure that caters to general industry, energy, safety, security, aerospace, and Defence industries through its businesses – John Crane, Smiths Detection, Smiths Interconnect and Flex Tek. While globally Smiths is 14000 strong, in India it has about 1000+ colleagues, making a difference to its clients, globally through its offices in Bangalore, Pune and Gurgaon (Delhi).