Page 10 - ACCF - Stories of Resilience

were worn, his feet dusty, and his eyes held a quiet resignation. He had spent his life toiling under the sun, working for daily
wages, barely earning enough to sustain himself. But beyond the struggle for food and shelter, another silent killer had been
creeping into his life- tobacco.

Tobacco had been his constant companion, a cheap solace in his difficult life. It was not a choice of luxury but a habit born
out of stress, a desperate escape from the crushing weight of poverty. He had smoked for years, oblivious to the damage it was
causing inside him, until one day, his body started giving up. The persistent cough, the unbearable pain, the weight loss—it all
led him to our doorstep.
THE UNFORGIVING DIAGNOSIS

When we examined him, we knew. The signs were all there. The test results confirmed what we feared - cancer. The disease
had already spread, consuming his body from within. He listened to our words in silence, his gaze fixed on the floor. There
was no shock, no desperate plea for reassurance. It was as if he had expected this, as if he knew that life had never been kind
enough to spare him from such a fate.
But what shook us the most was not just the diagnosis—it was the hopelessness in his voice when he finally spoke. “I don’t
have money for treatment,” he whispered. “I can’t afford to go to the hospital.”

For us, delivering the diagnosis was difficult, but witnessing his helplessness was even more devastating. Cancer is ruthless,
but poverty is crueler.
A FAMILY BOUND BY POVERTY, NOT BY SUPPORT

We knew he couldn’t fight this battle alone. He needed his family. Hoping for support, we reached out to his sons. As healthcare
workers, we often see families rally around their loved ones, clinging to hope, no matter how difficult the road ahead. But this
time, the response was different.

His sons were young, but life had already burdened them. They were daily wage laborers, just like their father had been all his

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