"Indomitable Spirit should Outshine Trauma of Pain,": Dr Abdul Kalam
Special, comprehensive report
by Divvy Kant Upadhyay
Mangalore, Dec 9: In his trademark style, Former President APJ Abdul Kalam administered an impromptu oath to the medicos of Mangalore, making them promise that they would devote part of their time to treat patients who could not afford medical care and atleast take care of 20 rural patients totally free of cost.
Further in the oath he asked the medicos to ensure the reliability and quality of medicines and products they use. Ending the oath, hundreds of medicos repeated a 'motto' after him "Let my brain remove the pain (of suffering and needy people)".
As already reported in these columns, Dr Kalam was in town to inaugurate the Father Muller Oncology Centre - a speciality unit for cancer care and research. The unit recently commissioned a state of the art Medical Linear Accelerator which would administer radiotherapy treatment to patients suffering from cancers of the breast, cervix, lung etc.
In the picturesque and calm surroundings of Fr Muller stadium, Dr Kalam was welcomed with a thundering applause by the audience which stood proof to the amount of love and respect that the masses have for him. His concern for the cancer patients was evident in the amount of time he devoted to speaking about them. Praising the efforts of Madam Curie in identifying radioactive agents, Dr Kalam said "her selfless efforts at the cost of her life have helped save many lives today".
He advised doctors to encourage their patients to have "an indomitable spirit that would shine over the trauma of pain" in cancer. He gave the example of three of his friends whom he called "Bravehearts" who were valiantly fighting blood cancer. To fight a courageous battle against cancer, his friends included an industrialist who fought with a 'gladiator like spirit', an author who dwelled into writing spiritual and literary work and a painter who made paintings depicting 'life and beauty'. He suggested that doctors go on a "journey of faith" by providing support to cancer patients "in their process of adjustment to a terminal disease".
Citing some studies done in India, he advised doctors to "provide 'psychotherapy' along with conventional medicinal therapy" in cancer patients to help them cope with "intense emotional stress". He asked young doctors to emulate people like Dr M R Raju, who was a leading scientist in USA, but left everything and helped develop a Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Cancer treatment centre based in a rural setup in Tamil Nadu. Not only does he look after Cancer patients but also helps young children in character building. His efforts have brought down the rural school drop out rates in that region from 70 to 30 percent.
He advised the medical fraternity in Mangalore to encourage and plan mass screening of people as "early detection of fatal cancers could lead to better treatment and results". Here he gave the example of a team of doctors and national institutes that studied the effects of screening for cervical cancer in villages where they provided 'door to door' large scale awareness and facilities for screening the women
Dr Kalam promoted the use of 'Barrier methods' and good 'reproductive hygiene' in lower socio-economic status people to prevent transmission of Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) which is the main organism responsible for causing cervical cancer.
Dr Kalam appreciated the 'Holistic' approach of combining homeopathy and allopathy for cancer treatment at the Fr Muller institute.
Students of all ages were eager to meet him personally and take autographs. Towards the end the cynosure of all eyes was a lucky young girl who read out a poem she wrote in honour of the former president and the nation.
The organizers hailed Dr Kalam as the "people's president" who has now turned into a "people's Man"
Bishop Aloysius Paul D'Souza blessed the new oncology centre and gave the presidential address.
Union minister of state for labour and employment Oscar Fernandes addressed the gathering and released a special cover on the occasion.
All the dignatories including Dr Kalam, praised the generosity, kind heartedness and vision of the founder, Father Muller and advised the students to emulate him and learn from his greatness.
Kalamspeak
"Stem Cell technology has great potential"
Dr Kalam particularly praised efforts of the scientists across the world in the field of Regenerative medicine and stem cell technology. Lauding the efforts of doctors in Japan and USA to produce Stem Cells from human skin, Dr Kalam termed it a "stunning breakthrough". He encouraged young scientists and doctors to join efforts in developing "tailor-made bone marrows" by learning the mechanism of human cell development which is understood in great details and depth at laboratory level.
The gathering was in for an early surprise when Dr Kalam asked the gathered men and women of all ages to repeat after him a few lines which highlighted the fact that Righteousness in one's heart and beauty in character would lead to harmony in home and order in the nation which would help spread peace in the world.
Answering a question exclusively asked by Divvy Upadhyay for Daijiworld on the 'solution for the issue of rural postings for MBBS students', Dr Kalam was amused by the round of applause the particular topic received from the gathering. Dr Kalam understanding the issue of poor rural infrastructure to support doctors, informed the people about the PURA project which he suggested to the government and which is present in the 11 th Government Plan.
PURA is 'Providing Urban amenities in Rural Areas'. Under the PURA scheme, which Dr Kalam announced on the Republic day a couple of years ago when he was the President, nearly 4130 'rural-clusters'or centres with growth potential were to be formed within 5 years with the aim of creating connectivity within them in sectors such as road, transport and power, Electronic ( IT and Telecom), Knowledge (Educational Training Institutes) and market connectivity.
Dr Kalam said once this scheme would be implemented, most doctors will feel encouraged to go and work in Rural areas. His pro-medico as well as pro-rural people remarks drew another round of applause from the crowd, majority of which were medicos who were recently frustrated with the Union health minister's attempts to bring in an year of compulsory rural posting in MBBS course at a time when rural infrastructure was as good as nill.
Later referring to the question asked by Divvy, union minister Oscar Fernandes also touched upon the issue of compulsory rural posting for MBBS students. The minister announced that the government is planning to provide healthcare to every citizen through insurance. He stressed that "90% of India's labour force worked in the unorganized sector" and once "they were empowered with health insurance, infrastructure condition in villages will improve" for provision of medical facilities.
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