Resonance shared on LinkedIn:
“This week, we’re honored to share a personal reflection from our colleague Chandan Kumar,
From Chandan:
Twenty years ago, when I was diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), my parents were told that the chances of survival were low and that treatment would be both difficult and expensive.
I remember making a promise to myself: if I survived, I wanted to do something to help children facing cancer.
Over the years, that promise has taken many forms. Today, through my work at Resonance and my involvement in the survivorship community, I have the privilege of contributing to the Indian Childhood Cancer Survivorship Study (C2S)—one of the largest childhood cancer survivorship cohort studies in the world.
The study is especially meaningful to me because my wife is also a childhood cancer survivor and participant in the study.
During a recent Resonance ALRCaN webinar, I reflected on my journey from childhood cancer survivor to contributor to C2S, and on the growing importance of survivorship care in low- and middle-income countries.
What began as a vision more than a decade ago has grown into a nationwide collaborative effort involving thousands of survivors, clinicians, researchers, hospitals, and advocacy organizations across India. Together, we are working to better understand the long-term health needs of childhood cancer survivors and strengthen survivorship care for future generations.
This work reflects the efforts of an extraordinary team of clinicians, researchers, and survivor advocates. I’m especially grateful to leaders such as Dr. Rachna Seth, the study PI, and Dr. Ramandeep Arora, whose commitment and leadership have helped advance survivorship research in India.
As survival rates continue to improve around the world, survivorship can no longer be an afterthought. Every child who survives cancer deserves access to lifelong care, support, and the opportunity to thrive.
The journey from patient to survivor to advocate has been deeply personal, and I am honored to be part of a community working to ensure that no survivor is left behind.”
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