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A breast cancer diagnosis does not merely shatter the patient; it destabilises an entire family. For a woman, the moment she hears the word “cancer,” life transforms into a fog of fear and confusion. The family stands equally paralysed, inexperienced in navigating the shock. What was once a distant story about someone else suddenly becomes a brutally personal reality.

India, today, faces a dual challenge: the rising incidence of breast cancer and the alarming inadequacy of support mechanisms surrounding the disease. According to the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), breast cancer now accounts for nearly 27% of all cancers among Indian women, with over 2.3 lakh new cases each year. Despite advancements in medical technology, yet, only about 50% survive beyond five years after detection, not because our doctors lack skill, but because our system lacks support, empathy, and readiness.

What most patients encounter is a fragmented structure that offers treatment, but not care. From the very outset, a woman entering a hospital for her first round of treatment encounters uncertainty where clarity should exist. There are few practical guidelines, no preparatory instructions about surgery or radiation, and no basic information about clothing, hygiene, or the management of side effects.

In several countries, such as the United States, hospitals routinely provide post-surgical care kits, specialised undergarments, radiation creams, and self-care instructions indispensable to patient comfort. In India, these simple yet vital aids are either exorbitantly priced or completely unavailable,........

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