Who we are
Our Mission
Our mission is to help children with cancer and their families in low-income countries by improving the quality of their medical and nursing care and offering them psychosocial, emotional, and financial support.
Founders of Global Children’s Cancer Foundation
Dr. Somasundaram Jayabose
He is a retired pediatric oncologist with extensive experience in helping children with cancer in India
✔ 1980 to 2009: Chief of Pediatric Hematology Oncology-Hematology at New York Medical College-Westchester Medical Center
✔ 2010 to 2014: established a pediatric cancer center in Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai, India
✔ Established Camila Children’s Cancer Fund to ensure all children with cancer received modern treatment regardless of their ability to pay.
✔ 2016 to 2020: Medical Director, India Pediatric Oncology Initiative, Jiv Daya Foundation
✔ 2020 to present: Medical Advisor, Aroh Foundation, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu, India
Mrs. Nirmala Jayabose
✔ 1982 - 2009 worked at the Division of Pediatric Oncology-Hematology, helping parents of children with cancer to get the maximum benefits from their insurance coverage
✔ 1993 - 2009: As a member of the Children’s Cancer Fund Committee, organized fund-raising events for the Children’s Cancer Fund
✔ 2010 - 2014: Worked closely with Dr. Jayabose as an administrator in the newly established Camila Children’s Cancer Center in Meenakshi Mission Hospital, Madurai, Tamil Nadu, India
Ms. Ayiravalli, RN
Pediatric Oncology nurse, Government Rajaji Hospital Madurai Medical College, Madurai, India.
✔ I have been working as a pediatric oncology nurse for more than two and half years at Government Rajaji Hospital in Madurai, I feel blessed and proud to be able to ease the pain and agony of children with cancer and their families to the best of my ability.
✔ On a daily basis, prepare the intravenous chemotherapy drugs and administer them to the patients, and monitor my patients’ progress. I make sure the children get their chemotherapeutic drugs as per protocol without delay and ensure an uninterrupted supply of all their medications.
✔ I also make sure all the chemo drugs are properly stored and maintain a record of our stock. When necessary, we do contact local NGOs for some drugs unavailable in the hospital.
✔ I draw their blood specimens for needed investigations. Many of our patients are quite malnourished, and we provide proper nutritional supplementation and guidance. In collaboration with the social workers, we also provide financial support to needy families and much-needed emotional and psychological support to the patients and their families.
✔ Many parents are too timid to ask questions to physicians, and part of my job is to be a patient advocate and a liaison in the patient-doctor relationship. I counsel the patients and their families by answering their questions about their disease and details of treatment and refer them to the physicians for questions that I cannot answer.
✔ At all times, I try to be kind and compassionate to the patients and their families, and they feel very comfortable under my care. During the past two and a half years, I have greatly improved my technical skills in securing intravenous lines and assisting physicians in performing procedures like lumbar puncture for intrathecal chemotherapy and bone marrow aspirate study.
✔ Another important part of my job is to keep the physicians informed of the patient's condition. If a child’s general condition deteriorates, I inform the attending physician immediately and carry out emergency steps in management.
✔ I do believe that my presence in the pediatric oncology team helps the patients and their families receive better care.