Jog a mile, raise funds for underprivileged cancer patients

MUMBAI: For those who like to run, walk or cycle to keep fit or as a hobby, can now lend their legs to a worthy cause. To help underprivileged cancer patients — at greater risk of infection and serious illness — with the pandemic disrupting diagnosis, surgery and palliative care, a voluntary support group is organising Care-A-Mile, a virtual event between August 21 and 23 to raise funds for their treatment.
The organisation, V Care Foundation, offers free help and hope to cancer patients and their families through outreach services.
The initiative takes off from the popular Squash-A-Mile event by the squash fraternity, first conceived in the UK in 2010 and later adopted in India in 2012. The virtual variation requires people to jog or walk about 2000 steps — that make a mile— inside their home or on the terrace, post a picture on social media with the hashtag #vcareamile and make a donation.
While several low income families are forced to sell off their belongings to travel to Mumbai in hope of better treatment, getting to the city and surviving is a major challenge with patients and their families struggling to pool in whatever they can to pay for their food, stay and treatment. This exacerbated by the lockdown has led to disease progression and need for more aggressive treatments.
The money raised by V Care has aided more than 3,300 poor patients battling cancer till date and the Care-A-Mile event is another altruistic effort at minimizing the devastating impact of the disease and providing medicine and treatment.