Shashikant Jakhade is FOM Volunteer of the Month (October 2018)
“We can’t change facts. We have to live with it throughout life”.
Gloom descended on the Jakhade household in Pune early in 2004. No one was in the mood for new year greetings. Their youngest son Shashikant had been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. Stunned and disbelieving he couldn’t get himself to go to office for two weeks. Almost a month had passed when he brought himself to accept that “we can’t change facts”.
Four years later during a Friends of Max Regional Meet in Pune he was to meet several other patients – and the natural leader in him emerged to network and form FOM Pune Chapter and throw himself into its patient-related activities. It wasn’t surprising that the 15-member strong team gelled together and featured prominently in the FOM Leadership Meeting in Pune 2013 followed by annual Chai for Cancer Addas every year during the Ganesh festivals. The Garware College (Commerce) graduate now is happily employed with Trade Ultra Ventures Pvt Ltd as General Manager developing its customer base and supply chain.
Fondly nicknamed “Captain,” Shashikant is a natural leader and has developed the Pune Friends of Max team into one of the most committed in the country. His secret is to absorb all pressure, delegate activities according to the strengths of his team members and modestly stay away from the limelight.
He lives in Pune in a joint family with his two elder brothers (one a police officer and the other a bank officer) and their families. He gratefully acknowledges the support from his close-knit family as well as Friends of Max and The Max Foundation.
His advice to CML patients is:
“Be brave and have courage to fight with cancer. Magic tablet Glivec is there with you. Follow the doctor’s instructions strictly. Do not avoid the tablet even a single day. Attend the regional meetings so that you will get the answer to every question. Speak openly with your doctor and your care taker about your problems. Do not hide anything from them”.