BENGALURU: Union Minister Ananth Kumar was first diagnosed with advanced lung cancer in the month of June. He was initially treated with medications here at Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation in Basavanagudi where his wife Tejaswini is one of the trustees but he did not show much improvement. He was advised to go to Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Centre in New York which he did in September.
"He was there till October 20 for 20 days, where he was given targetted therapy but those medicines did not work. He decided to come back to India. We gave him medicines at Shankara as well but his condition kept deteriorating and the disease also progressed. He was treated with a promising drug released recently in the US when the conventional ones did not work," said Dr BS Srinath, Surgical Oncologist and Managing Trustee, Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation.
"After the age of 40, one should have a thorough check-up at least once a year, but not many pay heed. The problem with Cancer is that it can be diagnosed only when we test for it, the symptoms don't show in the early stages. During the state assembly elections itself, Ananth Kumar seemed to have had the disease. He was having cough but he thought it was due to extensively campaigning in the dusty areas of North Karnataka. He passed away this morning at 1.45 am," Dr Srinath said.