Outside one of India’s busiest cancer hospitals, a mother sat with her child on her lap. That child was in the middle of chemotherapy. The next day, after hours inside a ward that smelled of disinfectant and difficult hope, she was back on the same street, with nowhere to sleep.
Ankeet Dave saw this. And then he could not unsee it.
“Feeling bad or heartbroken wasn’t enough,” he told The Logical Indian. “It had to translate into action.”
That shift, from witness to builder, is what Access Life is built on.
From Media to Purpose
Ankeet Dave is the Founder and Director of Access Life, a Mumbai-based non-profit dedicated to supporting families affected by childhood cancer. He has spent over two decades working in media and communications, a career that brought him close to brands, celebrities and, through them, to hospitals and NGOs doing quiet, essential work.
“That exposure was an eye-opener,” he said. “It was a world we were aware of, but had never really experienced from the inside.”
Those visits, those conversations with hospital staff, volunteers and families, accumulated over years. What began as awareness slowly became an obligation. Access Life was built alongside Girish Nair, who serves as Founder and Chairman of the organisation, and whose partnership has been central to everything the foundation has grown into. Outside of his work at Access Life, Ankeet is known for his interests in photography, music and storytelling, mediums he often uses to highlight human experiences and advocate for causes close to his heart.
What Treatment Abandonment Really Means
Access Life was founded in 2014 on a simple but urgent premise. In India, thousands of children travel from distant towns and villages to large cities to receive cancer treatment. The medical care may be subsidised or even free. But the cost of being there, of eating, sleeping, and staying near the hospital for months at a time, often breaks families.
“Treatment abandonment is not just a medical issue,” Ankeet explains. “It is largely driven by social and financial challenges. Families travel far from home, lose income, face emotional stress, and struggle with something as basic as accommodation.”
That pressure becomes too much. Families leave. Children do not finish treatment.
The Home Away from Home
Access Life’s answer to this was a model it calls “Home Away from Home.” These are centres situated near major cancer hospitals, where families can stay at no cost while their child undergoes treatment. They are not shelters in the minimal sense. Each centre is designed to offer stability, dignity and the feeling of being part of a community.
“Life at an Access Life centre is about bringing back a sense of normalcy,” Ankeet says. “Children spend time learning, playing, and engaging in activities, while caregivers find support and connection with others going through similar journeys.”
Today, Access Life operates 13 centres across 10+ cities, including multiple locations in Mumbai such as Gurunanak Niwas, Diamond Garden, Sandu Garden and Borivali, as well as centres in Pune, Manipal, Chandigarh, Bangalore, Ahmedabad, Coimbatore, Madurai, Noida and Silchar, Assam. At any given time, the organisation supports 218 families, or 654 beneficiaries. Over 12 years, it has supported more than 3,500 families and impacted over 11,500 lives.
The Invisible People: Caregivers
In most conversations about childhood cancer, the caregiver is a footnote. They are usually a mother, often young, frequently hundreds of kilometres from home. They have left jobs, other children and entire lives behind.
Access Life tries to centre them too. “Caregivers go through immense emotional and physical stress,” Ankeet said. “Our effort is to make sure they feel supported, through safe accommodation, meals, emotional support, and a community that understands their journey.”
The logic is straightforward: when the caregiver is steadier, the child is steadier too.
Built on Partnerships
Access Life did not build this alone. Collaborations with institutions like Tata Memorial Centre in Mumbai have helped align the organisation’s work closely with medical care and deepen its understanding of patient needs.
The expansion into Northeast India came through a partnership with Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre. The inspiration there was direct. “Dr. Ravi Kannan and his team have been a huge inspiration,” Ankeet told The Logical Indian. “Their commitment to ensuring every family gets equal opportunity and care gave us the confidence to step in and build alongside them.”
That presence in the Northeast was made possible in part through the support of the Harish and Bina Shah Foundation. Other partners sustaining Access Life’s work include the Azim Premji Foundation, Larsen and Toubro, United Way, Kotak Securities and the Rotary Club of Queen’s Necklace.
A Global Thread
Access Life holds FCRA approval, enabling it to receive international contributions. Through his work with Access Life America, Ankeet has helped build awareness and support among friends and well-wishers in countries like the US, channelling that support back to families on the ground.
“Access Life America helps build awareness globally and brings in support that strengthens our work on the ground in India,” he said.
What Comes Next
When asked what systemic change he would most like to see in India’s paediatric cancer care ecosystem, Ankeet is careful not to diminish the work already being done. “There is already a lot of good work happening in India,” he said. “Hospitals, doctors, medical teams, NGOs, and individuals are doing incredible work.”
What he wants is connection. A more integrated approach, where accommodation and caregiver support are seen as essential parts of treatment and not afterthoughts. “Our vision is simple,” he said. “To ensure that no child has to discontinue treatment due to lack of support.”
For Ankeet Dave and Girish Nair, that is not an abstract goal. It is what the mother on the street, and the thousands of families like her, have always deserved.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
A child fighting cancer should never have to fight alone. Yet thousands of caregivers sleep on pavements outside hospitals, invisible to a system that measures success only in survival rates. Shelter and caregiver support are not luxuries. They are necessities. Access Life proves that dignity is as essential to healing as medicine.
Should the government mandate support infrastructure for families of children undergoing cancer treatment?
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