On the first floor of the outpatient ward at Cancer Institute, Adyar, nestled amid shelves of yellowed pages containing patient details, sit some senior citizens.
Kamala Balachandran (73) peers at the monitor of an old computer, and carefully keys in a patient’s ID. Nearby, S. Kabilar (71) finishes writing a letter. Both of them are part of a group of volunteers that has been contributing their time and efforts for years now at the institute.
Ms. Balachandran, who has been volunteering at the institute since 1995, has also counselled hundreds of patients. “My husband is an IAS officer and we’ve been moving around the country, throughout. I volunteered at hospitals wherever I went,” she says.
Mr. Kabilar has been volunteering for close to a decade. He takes two buses, five days a week, from his residence in Adambakkam, and does data entry and letter writing.
He points to a letter that reads: ‘Thank you so much for your letter of reminder for my checkups and enquiring after my health. I am doing very well.’ “Letters like these make our work worthwhile,” he says.
The institute’s authorities acknowledge the importance of such volunteers. “They help us keep track of patient data,” says R. Ravi of the records section. “We receive 300 to 400 patient files every day and the service of these volunteers is invaluable,” he says.
Pauline Paulose, a nun belonging to the Franciscan Missionaries of Mary order, has been teaching at the institute for almost 30 years now, 20 of which were on voluntary basis.
With a doctorate in nursing, she taught oncology to students, doctors and even patients at the institute. The 73-year-old was diagnosed with breast cancer a year ago, but this has not stopped her. “I taught a class even yesterday,” says Sr. Paulose, who uses a walker to get around.
But it not just within the walls of the institute that volunteering takes place. G.S. Venkatraman (75), along with a group, has helped raise close to Rs. 15 crore to aid in the treatment of poor patients.
“Since 2001, we have set up stalls over 200 times to raise the money,” he says, adding their target is Rs. 20 crore.