Wednesday, October 13, 2010

Free Lunch for Leukemia?

Subject: Please don't delete this without forwarding

'Imitinef Mercilet' is a medicine which cures blood cancer.
Its available free of cost at Adyar Cancer Institute in Chennai.
Create Awareness. It might help someone.
Forward to as many as u can, kindness cost nothing.

The above came to me as a forwarded email message. It could be purely the result of a misguided attempt at profiteering, mischief-making, or plain stupidity, none of which is within my reach to deal with. I cannot trace the originator, and therefore, following are my shocked ruminations: 

All facilities, all over the world, including in India, which treat, or claim to treat, cancer in its various forms and manifestations, exist with legal and illegal licenses to do so.  Touching the subject of how to regulate medical care anywhere is beyond the realm of my ability, and vests entirely in the hands of various law and regulatory agencies.

The important point that I can make here is, how can someone be allowed to circulate such a message, because not all who will receive it will understand its dangerous consequences and the misconceptions arising out of it.

Leukemia and other forms of blood cancer, and other cancers in general, are variously treated with different results, depending on a multitude of factors. The medicines and the enormously sophisticated equipment required to impart such treatment are a great responsibility in the hands of doctors who admit and handle such cases.




Leukemia cells from research papers

There are many forms in which leukemia manifests itself, and countless differing approaches exercised by the physicians and the institutions who handle the patients afflicted with this dread disease. 'Imitinef Mercilet' ("Imitinef Mercilet" is apparently an alternative spelling of the cancer drug, Imatinib mesylate) is not like aspirin. It is a complex medication, where whether it is free or not is definitely not the main issue. Implying that the Cancer Institute at Adyar in Chennai doles it out for free is the most cavalier way of planting an outrageously preposterous and dangerous notion in the minds of people with little or remote chance of being afflicted with cancer of any type, or who are just plain ignorant.

Apart from the fact that the Chennai institute is not the only place in the world where this drug is administered, it would be given on a case to case basis, and not as a general panacea. If someone took the circular seriously, with a member of the family suffering from cancer in some form, does the writer/sender of this circular expect that the Cancer Institute, upon one’s approaching it, will quickly deliver free medicine? and for how many days, without first admitting the patient, checking him/her out, charging for the tests, hospitalization, radiation, chemotherapy, and whatever other treatments are needed to save the patient; if indeed the patient does prove to have cancer.

I do not want to lengthen this argument. I feel that such use of electronic media, if it cannot be banned, should at least not be encouraged, and should be crushed as quickly as possible. I believe that I will have unanimity of support of my deep concern, which people will in turn share.  If, on the other hand, even one percent of people actually believe that this is a useful circular, and that the message should be spread; if they believe that the drug would be handed over to them on asking, and that everything would be free and hunky-dory, I would like them to come forward and put forth their argument to me. If convinced, I will withdraw my complaint.



pictures taken in my drawing-room

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