This story is from April 20, 2020

Kolkata doctors, cops & Purulia villager join hands to help kid get cancer medicines

Kolkata doctors, cops & Purulia villager join hands to help kid get cancer medicines
Nayak hands over the medicines to Suryadeb Kumbhakar
KOLKATA: A combined effort by an oncologist in Kolkata, a pharmacist, a Good Samaritan in Purulia and officers of two police stations 300 kilometres apart, saved the life of a nine-year-old kid battling blood cancer.
They transported the life-saving drugs from the city to a Purulia village in the middle of lockdown last week after the kid had run out of medicines and could not procure any more from local pharmacies.

A resident of Sonathali village in Purulia, Class-IV student Suryadeb Kumbhakar has been suffering from acute lymphocytic leukemia for the last three years and is under treatment at Kolkata Medical College and Hospital. According to doctors, his disease is treatable but he cannot skip medicines.
The problem started two weeks into the lockdown, when his pills — 6 Marcaptopurine (6-MP) — finished and his parents couldn’t find it anywhere else.
“The kid’s parents got scared as the boy is entirely dependent on the medicine and it was not available locally. Worse, they are also very poor and had no idea what to do about it. That is when they approached me for help. I, however, took help of a doctor, who visits our village dispensary once every month and checks patients for free,” said Raja Nayak, a local pharmacist.
Alerted by Nayak’s call, doctor Devmalya Banerjee, an oncologist associated with multiple city private hospitals, immediately bought two months of that medicine for the child. But then the problem of transportation cropped up.

“At first, I had thought of going there myself and approached the Botanical Garden police station. But they suggested that they can do it for the child. Accordingly, they got in touch with the inspector-in-charge of Purulia’s Kashipur police station and the officers ensured the medicines reach on time. The best part is, the boy can now continue his dose without skipping any,” Banerjee told TOI.
“I can’t thank them enough for saving my son’s life. They are like angels. I will be forever grateful to them,” said Palit Paban Kumbhakar, the boy’s father.
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About the Author
Tamaghna Banerjee

Tamaghna Banerjee, a reporter from Kolkata, covers crime, aviation, human rights and politics. He has a keen interest in human interest and rural reporting. He has done his postgraduation in journalism and mass communication. He has a total of 14 years in journalism.

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