Two weeks later, the doctors at the U.S. Government’s "truly prestigious" research centre near Washington, the National Cancer Institute, found a tumour in the centre of my brain therefore, it could not be surgically removed - and involvement of the spinal cord in addition to the scary black lines in my eyes. Will C.P. Thakur, Health Minister, therefore, institute an enquiry against AIIMS and dismiss the doctors who survive on taxpayers ‘money? Sadly, he will find that together with the lack of professionalism in the doctors there, it is the politicians in Delhi who are to blame. These people treat the institute as their private ward. If AIIMS today is a poor scientific institution, it is only because of too much meddling in its affairs by them. So if the private sector Apollo was bad for Kumaramangalam, then be rest assured that public sector AIIMS will be even worse for the ordinary person.

That apart, the big lesson is that if you have problem, make sure that you persist till you get a diagnosis that satisfies you. In the modern world, you have no idea what has hit you and in the case of cancer, it can take months to get diagnosed. Do not be a Kumaramangalam who let his fever go on and on. Continue with your work even if it means editing books from your hospital bed -cancer does not affect you till it has gone out of hand-but also keep getting all your tests done. But, ultimately remember cancer is such a disease that you will survive it only if you find a doctor who takes a personal interest in you. And that will all depend on how people respond to you. The treatment itself can sometimes be more horrific than the disease and the doctor has to take great pains to deal with the side effects of the treatment which can kill you as well.

But all this advice is useful only if you happen to have money. Or, like ministers, have access to taxpayers money .For, the poor and ordinary middle class people, the Government and insurance companies must come up with an insurance scheme specifically for high-cost diseases for cancer which have a lifetime incidence of one out of every 10 people going up to one out of every three to five very soon. A medical professional tells me that Western companies have privately projected this incidence for India to plan their operations here. And I am convinced they are going to be more right than our government establishment.

I cannot forget the face of a poor villager I met with a cancer doctor in AIIMS soon after my own treatment in the U.S. had come to an end. She was telling him that he had to get admitted the next day. He just could not go back home. But the man kept on pleading. "Madam, I just came for a check-up. I have no relative here to take care of me. I had no idea that I would have to undertake treatment in Delhi. And I have no money." The man had no idea what had hit him. He had no idea what cancer was all about. I could not stand the discussion and ran away from the place. I do not know what happened to him. But, for once, I hated being an Indian - a privileged person in a sea of appalling poverty, illiteracy and bombastic rhetoric.

The question we all need to ask ourselves is: Did Kumaramangalam die because of the professional incompetence of Apollo and AIIMS doctors or because of the incompetence of the Government especially in matters of environmental health? Dr. C.P. Thakur, Health Minister, an eminent physician, has said that he would not be averse to cancelling the registration of the Apollo Hospital, if found guilty, I would like to know from him how citizens like me can get the registration of the Health Ministry revoked?

Back>>