HYDERABAD: Dr Suneetha Mulinti, head of Radiation Oncology Department in Continental Hospitals, in her book ‘25 Hope Street’ (Gelupu Kiranaalu in Telugu), narrates the stories of brave hearts who took cancer by the horns. She says: “There is a stigma attached to cancer that it means certain death, but we need to reject this notion that cancer has no answer. Over the years, great advancement in medicine and technology have revolutionised the field of oncology and survival chances of patients have improved drastically in case of early detection of the disease. But it is annoying to see that there has not been an iota of change in the mindset of the people.”
Dr Suneetha’s words ring true in all the stories in her book. In one of the stories, a woman, who was diagnosed with breast cancer, loses all her family members in a series of unfortunate events. Her daughter dies by suicide, her son dies in a motorcycle accident and her husband succumbs to a cardiac arrest. The brave woman still fought her disease valiantly, and was not only disease free after sometime, but also finds a companion too. In another story, a 70-year-old teacher refuses to undergo radiation for larynx cancer as he preferred alternative natural medicine. In this way, precious time is lost. When he comes back to Dr Suneetha again, he is cured of the diseases but his voice is lost.
These short stories are based on true experiences of Dr Suneetha. In the past two decades, as an oncologist, she came across scores of patients and their family members who displayed enormous courage as they fought the disease. Each of these stories is about the triumph of humanity in the face of adversity even when they lose the battle against the disease.
Throughout the stories, Dr Suneetha’s compassion for her patients shine through. She goes beyond her scope of duty to counsel not only patients, but also the care givers, which is very necessary in fighting cancer. As the family member of one of her patients said: “Dr Suneetha used to make her patient sit in front of the computer for an hour and explain to him the nuances of the disease. I have never ever seen any doctor doing that.”
Family member of another survivor said: “Dr Suneetha helped me make a difficult decision. When I was wondering whether we should tell the patient about the diagnosis, she advised us that we should not do so as the patient would lose the will to live. The diagnosis showed that the patient had only 1-1.5 years to live, but it’s been five years now, and she is still here with us.”
Stating that cancer should be treated as any other disease, Dr Suneetha said: “I tell care givers not to pity cancer patients. It should be treated like any other disease. People die of heart attacks in an hour. Cancer gives us more time than that to treat the patient”.
“I hope this book will ease the fear and anxiety of the patients, family and care givers. It is not only meant for patients and their near and dear ones, but also aimed at raising awareness among general public. If you really want to help a cancer patient, bring food, do some of the chores or accompany him/her during their visit to the hospital. They simply need a hand to hold, an ear to listen and a heart to understand their woes. However, this book is not a list of Dos and Don’ts for cancer, but series of stories that touch your heart.”