CMs promise to cancer patients

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Hailing from different parts of the state, the four men had only one demand when they met the Chief Minister in person on Tuesday - to prevent the younger generation from repeating the same mistake that they had committed. As World No Tobacco Day was being observed globally, Varghese of Ernakulam, Mohammed Kasim of Kollam, Krishnan Kutty of Palakkad and Wilson of Kayamkulam, all patients at the Regional Cancer Centre (RCC) here, had visited the Chief Minister on a special purpose - to urge the Chief Minister to take necessary steps to curb the rising habit of tobacco consumption among the youth. The reason that they undertook the task was that they themselves were the victims of the dangerous habit. The four men were patients of mouth cancer due to prolonged use of chewing tobacco and were fortunate to come back to  life after the disease was diagnosed in time. The Chief Minister could have ignored their plea just like the umpteen other petitions and memorandums he receives each day. But their disfigured faces, which were the result of numerous life-saving surgeries, were hard to be shunned. The Chief Minister took their plea seriously and promised that he would discuss the matter in the first Cabinet meeting itself of the new government. The Chief Minister also said that the efforts taken by the Regional Cancer Centre authorities in fighting the disease were commendable and also lauded the way they cared for their patients by not letting them lose their faith. Varghese, Mohammed Kasim, Krishnan Kutty and Wilson were accompanied by the Director of RCC Dr Paul Sebastian and Additional Director Dr Kusumakumari.