‘Angel’ of hope: Kerala nurse’s breakthrough relieves cancer pain in children

Kozhikode (Kerala): The agony endured by children battling cancer is heartbreaking to witness even once. Moved to tears by their relentless suffering, G N Anjana had just one thought: could she do something, anything, to lessen their pain? That compassion drove the staff nurse to turn into a researcher. Today, Anjana, a native of Koyilandy and a nurse at the Malabar Cancer Centre in Thalassery, has been awarded two prestigious international nursing fellowships by leading global cancer research institutions.

During chemotherapy, many children develop painful ulcers in their mouth, oesophagus and gut, often leaving them unable to swallow food. Anjana's research into methods to prevent and reduce the severity of these mouth sores earned her a fellowship from the St Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Tennessee, USA.

As a nurse, conducting trial tests with medicines was not an option. Instead, Anjana developed a specialised ‘Oral Care Bundle’. Over six months, she tested this intervention on around 202 pediatric patients at the hospital. The results were remarkable: the occurrence of mouth ulcers dropped by nearly 70%, and in cases where ulcers did develop, their severity was remarkably reduced. Previously, 12 out of every 100 children required feeding tubes due to severe oral sores; with her care bundle, that number plummeted to just two.

Her second accolade is a three-year fellowship worth ₹16.7 lakh awarded by the International Society of Paediatric Oncology in collaboration with the Sanofi Foundation’s ‘My Child Matters’ programme. Aimed at empowering nurses in developing nations, the St Jude fellowship offered only five seats globally, while the Sanofi fellowship offered just four. Anjana holds the distinction of being the sole candidate selected from India for both programs.

Anjana completed her BSc Nursing degree at the Government Nursing College in Ernakulam. She is the daughter of P Govindankutty Nair and Prasanna from ‘Pragathi’ in Aanavathil of Koyilandy. She is married to businessman S M Divin, and the couple has a daughter named Nithara.