Living life to the fullest

For a lot of folks, it takes just a few moments of despair to cave in when they face a crisis situation in life. But for a few brave souls, having the courage and ability to put up a good fight and face the challenge head on is what life is all about. And the founder of Win Over Cancer, Arun Gupta, is one of the perfect examples of that brave and positive attitude.

Win Over Cancer was founded in 2011, when Arun was diagnosed with chronic lymphocyte leukemia, with an aim to provide help and assistance to cancer patients — psychologically, financially, physically as well as mentally.

“It was a difficult moment for me and my family but instead of lamenting the hard truth, we decided to know more about it  by reading and talking to people who were undergoing  a similar situation,” reminisces Arun, who is a GST Consultant by profession. He adds, “By doing so we realised that this disease not only deprived the patient of his happiness but also robbed him of his job, money and in some case friends and family too.”

Arun found out the common problems that almost all cancer patients grappled with, and in order to help those in distress, he started writing blogs, which he later compiled into a website and established his NGO, which got registered in 2015.  

Other than that, Arun also started giving online counselling to patients, providing a free second opinion by forming a group consisting of qualified doctors and more. Since it is quite difficult for cancer patients living in remote areas to get access to big hospitals, he through his NGO started giving free second opinions via telephone and organising health check-up camps too.

The NGO has several programs including Financial Rehabilitation of Cancer Patients, Job Portal and Health check-up. Explaining the workings of their program Job Portal, Arun says, “It is a job search website where corporates upload their requirements for a job to which cancer-affected patients and their families can apply. We have helped quite a few people get a job through this program.”

Arun’s better half, Kavita Gupta, who is a co-founder of the NGO, has been supporting her husband throughout. Kavita has even designed a prosthetic bra for those who undergo mastectomy. She says, “A friend of mine who is a doctor suggested we design a cheaper version of a prosthetic bra as those in the market were expensive. So, I designed a prosthetic bra made of foam. But unfortaunately, it didn’t get approved as foam causes several skin allergies. Then I researched for about six months and manufactured prosthetic bras made of an indigenous material, which is much cheaper in price. After getting approval from AIIMS, I started distributing them on Mondays at the same institution for free.”

Arun, who is a fierce fighter with an indomitable spirit and a positive mindset, says, “Cancer is a beautiful disease because cancer patients become fearless once they get to know about it. I think, they overcome the fear of death. It changes you as a person.”