THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: On Saturday evening, Kodiyeri Balakrishnan, who reassumed the charge of CPM state secretary the previous day, walked out of his hospital bed after the completion of a scheduled chemotherapy session to attend the 10th anniversary celebration of the Trivandrum Oncology Club. While presiding over the anniversary meet of the forum of oncologists in the city, Kodiyeri opened up about the disease that caught him two years ago and his fight against that.
“It was during a routine diabetic check-up two years ago that I was diagnosed with cancer. My physician Dr Jothydev Kesavadev suggested an advanced blood test to know about any other diseases. As he found something suspicious, he advised a scanning which confirmed malignancy in pancreas.
Later, a portion of the pancreas was surgically removed. I have been undergoing follow up treatments including chemotherapy since then,” Kodiyeri told a small group comprising doctors, representatives of NGOs working in cancer care and media persons. It was ‘ca19-9 tumour marker test’ that the doctor prescribed.
“I have never shied away from telling anyone about my disease. Awareness about the disease is important as early detection is the key in curing cancer,” he said. Kodiyeri, who was accompanied to the venue by wife Vinodini, said the support of his family and access to good treatment helped him tide over the critical phase.
“I am now under the treatment of Dr Boben Thomas. Earlier, Dr Aju Mathew was treating me and I also got excellent treatment from MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston,” he said. MP Shashi Tharoor who released the book ‘Arbudam: Arinjathinumappuram’ written by Dr Boben Thomas, saluted the fighting spirit of Kodiyeri. “We admire him not just because he is a cancer survivor but because he hasn’t let the disease come in the way of his activities and hard work,” said Tharoor.