“Early detection is the key to the cure.”
A Cancer diagnostic camp was organised in Shree Raj Saubhag Ashram managed Community Health Centre on 21st July 2019 where 32 women patients were administered a complete check up, 10 patients underwent a mammography and 1 patient suspected of having cancer was sent to Ahmedabad for further checkup. Other services that were made available at the camp were the pap smear test for cervical cancer, examination of the mouth (since most of these women chew tobacco) and an exhibition to raise awareness about cancer.
A team of 11 fully-equipped doctors and nurses from the Gujarat Cancer and Research Institute, Ahmedabad arrived at the Community Health Centre in Sayla, to offer their expertise to the patients on their day off, a Sunday. All the check ups and treatments were given free of charge, and were sponsored by the late Mrs Madhuben Kirtibhai Mehta.
Mrs Madhuben's story is an inspiring one that needs to be told.
Madhuben was a quiet and pious lady by nature. She always wore a sweet smile on her face. Unfortunately in the later years of her life she developed breast cancer.
After consulting her benefactor Param Pujya Bhaishree and seeking his constant support and strength she chose not to undergo surgery and deal with this painful illness with patience and equanimity. She took this illness as a blessing and used it as a platform to practice sambhaav (rising above the duality of likes and dislikes) and detachment from her own body.
Bhaishree says that rural women have a lot of tolerance and are brought up in a way wherein they are conditioned to neglect themselves and hence tend to push their health on a backburner. To add to this many of them also face a money crunch. They therefore always have a delayed detection of this dreaded disease.
Madhuben's affectionate heart went out to those women who were suffering from this disease but did not have the resources to afford the treatment. Feeling their pain, she often wondered 'how would they be able to endure this trauma without the shelter of an enlightened master'.
She then resolved to donate 10 lakhs as cancer welfare fund for these women. She then communicated this desire to her daughter Tejalben, who rose to the occasion and generously donated this amount after her mother's demise. Inspite of living in Los Angeles, USA, Tejalben pursued her mother's wish and was the key force behind this cancer diagnostic camp.
Madhuben's story serves as an inspiration to many, as she had not spent a single penny on her own illness but had donated 10 lakhs towards those who suffered from the same.
Such is the magic of an enlightened saint, complaints eventually change to gratitude and compassion, enabling those in his shelter to lead a selfless life.
