"Man bogged down with ‘monstrous’ tumours on his body"

Man bogged down with ‘monstrous’ tumours on his body

Story by Sumesh Rajan

Mumbai: April 28, 2018

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXvhU-et4O0

Circumstances prevented K Palanisami from taking medical treatment for what seemed to be innocuous growths on his body when he was 12 years old. But, now, 30 years later the tumours have become ‘monstrous’ in size, bogging him down and forcing him to stay indoors.

42-year-old K Palanisami from Podarankadu village in Dharmapuri district of Tamil Nadu state in India, has four massive tumours on both his hands and a monstrous one on his neck, affecting his speech and movement.

“Everything was normal till he was 12 years of age. Then small tumours started appearing on his body. My father Kailas took him to doctors in Dharmapuri and Chennai, but they said that the tumours are harmless and will not affect him. The doctors also said that if any surgical procedure was to be carried out to remove the tumours, it could prove to be fatal for him,” said K Sivasami, his elder brother.

He further added, “As our village is located in the hills and as we didn’t have that much finance to travel to far off cities to seek medical help, we didn’t pay much attention to his condition. But, now the tumours have grown to massive sizes affecting his daily life.”

“We are four siblings -- three brothers and one sister. And, ever since I can remember from my grandparents’ time, no one in the family has this condition. Even the doctors who have examined Palanisami are unable to ascertain the cause for this condition”, said Sivasami.

“Following the death of my father, we two brothers and our wives are taking care of him,” said he.

Besides the five huge tumours on his hands and neck almost weighing 18 kilograms, there are five other small tumours on other parts of Palanisami’s body. The massive tumour that hangs from his neck area is affecting his vocal cord, making him unable to speak properly.

“Two days ago, Palanisami was admitted to the Government Hospital in Dharmapuri. However, the doctors after conducting an x-ray and blood tests have not been able to reach to a conclusion. What’s more, though the doctors instructed a scan to be done of the tumors, it has not been done as the tumors are so large that Palaisami cannot fit into the scanning machine. We are waiting for the doctors to start proper medical treatment to save our brother,” said Sivasami.

To get the hospital doctor’s opinion, this reporter called up the hospital dean Dr. K Srinivasaraj’s office but was told that he was on leave. Calls to the hospital’s resident medical officer Dr. R Surabi went unanswered.