The Week India – July 21, 2019

26 THE WEEK • JULY 21, 2019

PLUS

Life’s Balance Sheet.

In 2005, Narendra Shetty came home after a

particularly strenuous game of cricket with friends,

and complained of pain in his leg. His mother put it

down to the rough and tumble of teenaged boys

playing. She applied some balm and both of them

forgot about it. The following day, the pain returned

while he was in school. It was so severe the mother

took the 14-year-old to the family doctor, a general

practitioner (GP). When the pain persisted, he advised

them to get an X-ray done at the earliest. No one was

prepared for the result.

From Stories to Real Life.

“We met an orthopaedic oncologist for a second

opinion. He examined all the reports and, during the

course of the consultation, said that even if it was

cancer, they would not have to amputate my leg. That

was the first time I heard the word ‘cancer’ and

realized what I had,” says Narendra.

The biopsy would confirm that it was Ewing’s

sarcoma, a rare type of bone and tissue cancer that

mostly affects teenagers and children. “Till then, I had

only heard horrible stories about cancer and seen the

movie, Anand. At the same time, I never had any side

effects that one associates with cancer. Apart from

the excruciating leg pain, everything else was fine.

I remember being confused, thinking that if I have

cancer, how come I’m okay? I started questioning the

diagnosis. When I asked my parents why they didn’t

tell me, they said it was because they didn’t want to

frighten me.”

Narendra Shetty

“Most survivors find it very difficult to find

employment. My bosses said that they were

only interested in my abilities and not in my

medical history.”