Anatomy of a Tumour: A Patient's Intimate Dialogue with the Scourge
Fitness
Synthetic audio, Automated braille
Summary
The patient is Sudhansu Mohanty an Indian civil servant in his early fifties his scourge is the carcinoid tumour which unknown to him he has been carrying around for some time Mohanty s introduction… to this scourge was gradual - starting with an almost-continuous fatigue followed by intermittentdiarrhoea a loss of appetite enhanced perspiring especially while eating and a wasting away of muscles He ignored them all he lived in denial Before he knew it he was overtaken by nemesis in the form of a sharp drop in his haemoglobin The cause is carcinoid - a rare form of cancer rare in terms of appearance hard to detect in its nascent stages and therefore all the more deadly In Mohanty s case it was suspected early post-colonoscopy thanks to the perspicacity of his gastroenterologist who most unusual for a physician - pronounced I consider this malignant I want to go in and see The author takes the reader on his four-year-long odyssey with carcinoid the rogue cancer He touches lightly on his back-to-back surgeries and experiences in the hospital He describes alternative remedies for cancer - eating asparagus broccoli lime lemon grass - suggestions forwarded to him by well-wishers He uses the Internet and finds the stories of fellow-sufferers He narrates his battles to live life full tilt holding down a demanding day job while he undergoes a third surgery and as though nothing has interrupted his life even contemplates a sabbatical in a US university Anatomy of a Tumour is a tale of courage and hope Mohanty s writing is imbued with both humour and courage and clearly reflects his determination to face all odds with the same gung-ho spirit that has informed his life