Manipal Hospital invited 20 cancer survivors to watch the Indian Premier League (IPL) cricket match on April 15, 2024, held at M. Chinnaswamy Stadium, Bengaluru. The T20 match was between Royal Challengers Bengaluru and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Manipal Hospitals is the official health partner of the IPL cricket team, Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB).
The hospital hosted 20 cancer survivors and their families to experience a live cricket match while ensuring their safety and well-being. This was achieved with the help of RCB management, as the participants were assigned special entrances to a less populated section of the stadium and given wristbands for easier identification.
According to sources, Karthik Rajagopal, the Chief Operating Officer of Manipal Hospitals, emphasized that the hospital believes in building an inspiring space for cancer patients to begin new journeys. He also said that the hospital had recognized the distress of combating cancer and took this initiative to show support and spread happiness in a safe environment for these survivors. He pointed out that the medical stations and volunteers were present to ensure safety throughout the cricket match, and the required medicines were dispensed before the event, as per BCCI's regulations.
A 9-year-old R. Jeevan has said it was his first time watching a cricket match live and that he was very excited and lucky to see his inspiration, Virat Kohli, in action. Another participant, Suchitha Venkatesh, a 27-year-old, said that she will remember this moment forever.
Kiran Rathod, a 10-year-old, was diagnosed with non-metastatic left tibia osteosarcoma in June 2023 and battled the disease with the help of Dr. Srimanth B.S., a lead consultant in orthopedic oncology, working in Manipal hospitals and another 8-year-old, Manya diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia-pre-B-cell type treated by Dr. Mallikarjun Kallashetty, a consultant in hematology, hematooncology, and bone marrow transplantation at Manipal Hospital were some of the other participants who got a chance to experience this exclusive cricket match.
Sources have reported that the young cancer survivors could fulfill the dream of watching their cricket idol play live as a part of the Manipal Hospital Community Connect Initiative.
(Input from various sources)
(Rehash/Dr. Yogeeta V H/MSM)