64-year-old cancer patient wants to skip surgery

KOLKATA: Ever since he heard about the Supreme Court verdict on ‘living will’, 64-year-old Yajul Haq has been pleading with doctors to ‘let him go’. Suffering from osteosarcoma — a form of bone cancer that spreads fast and often affects the lungs — in his legs for the last four years, Haq needs to get his cancerous limbs amputated. While doctors at the Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Research Institute (NSCBCRI) — where he is under treatment — have strongly recommended the surgery which may extend his life-span by a few months, Haq is adamant on putting an end to his ‘painful existence’.

“Haq came to know about the SC verdict from a fellow patient and has decided not to have the surgery. He has even consulted his family and they have agreed. We have been telling him that this is not passive euthanasia for which he needs to draw up a will. But he believes it is now legal to opt out of treatment and fears that he might be put on life-support at a later stage. He is determined to avoid that,” said Ashish Mukhopadhyay, director of NSCBCRI.

A resident of Burdwan’s Monteswar, Haq was diagnosed with osteosarcoma in 2014. It affected his legs and has been spreading upwards. Even though, it is yet to infiltrate the rest of his body, sarcoma cells may already have penetrated his blood vessels and could lead to a recurrence of cancer in other organs like the lungs. Haq, who worked in a chit fund firm has been in excruciating pain for the last three months and his son, too, believes he should be allowed to ‘leave in peace’. “Honestly, I am not too aware of the new law but it has given my father a lot of hope. We don’t want him to suffer any longer,” said his son Khalid Hussain.

Doctors at the hospital plan to counsel him again next week. Even though the surgery may not cure him, it could improve the quality of his life, said Mukhopadhyay. “His pain will lessen and his overall condition, too, will improve. He may even be able to move around on crutches. While the decision to skip the surgery is entirely his, we will try and make him change his mind,” said Mukhopadhyay.

Even though the family has limited resources, Haq’s treatment has never stopped since his kin secured funds from the Prime Minister’s fund, said his son.

Queries are pouring in from patients at city private hospitals after the SC verdict. “Several elderly patients in our hospital have expressed the desire not to be put on life-support,” said Alok Roy, chairperson, Medica Superspecialty Hospital.