Our Aim
Patricia was a beacon of light and hope. Her life was like a melody which continues to play. Her warm and kindred spirit will prevail thorough the work of the Patricia Barretto Cancer Care Foundation.
The Patricia Barretto Cancer Care Foundation is built on a mandate of being the warm, helping hand for those ailing from cancer. We will aim to restore the lives of those who are battling cancer in the earlier stages, and reduce the pain for the terminally ill so that they can spend their last days in peace and happiness.
Through monetary support in the form of donations and funds, we will augment the effort of NGOs and individuals working in the Cancer Care space in the areas of cancer treatment, palliative care, nutrition, and infrastructural support.
Mrs & Mr McRae - Patricia's parents
The Power of Pain
The end was in sight. Our daughter, Patricia Barretto, then only forty-five years old, had been given her marching orders. She was diagnosed with breast cancer, stage 4 in September of 2016 and was informed in February 2020 she had just two more weeks to live.
Patricia had a fulfilling life. She had a pinnacle as CEO of The Harris Theater in Chicago. She had touched many lives and weaved magic through many causes. Her young child David, then just 13 and her husband Sheldon, in the prime of his life were her chief concerns. What would happen to them?She shared her anxiety with us, her parents and extracted a promise that we would be there for them, no matter what.
For us the last days with Patricia are memories of pain, hers and ours, and all those around her who loved her. Patricia is gone but the memory of the pain has stayed. And we, the living, needed to find an antidote, a balm for our pain. A reason to live, to reach out, to take forward a message of love. It is with this in mind Patricia's family willed to set up the Patricia Barretto Cancer Foundation, an organization that augments the capacities of Indian NGOs working in Cancer Care space. Apart from supporting organisations we are committed to providing financial assistance to some needy individuals.True, we cannot help everyone. True, cancer seems unbeatable. Also very true that our effort is a very small contribution. But it is a start. And we shall overcome. We invite you to join us in this fight, nay war. Let's together pray that our world has a lot less pain to bear today.