Bantwal (Dakshina Kannada District), KARNATAKA :

When 30-year-old Abdul Jabbar Ponnodi from Bantwal of Dakshina Kannada district was 20 years old and wanted to complete his UG course like many of his friends, he developed back pains.

For nearly one-and-a-half years, he went to a local doctor and lived on painkillers. However, after two years when the pain increased, scanning and other medical tests revealed that Abdul had developed ewing sarcoma, a rare form of cancer.

Speaking to Bangalore Mirror, he said, “Gradually my legs lost strength, I lost bladder control. I was bedridden. I was operated upon, and after radiation therapy as well as chemotherapy for nine months, my condition improved. With almost two years of physiotherapy, my legs started regaining strength. With the help of special shoes, I started moving around, started using the scooter and also started working as a salesperson in a mobile phone shop.”

For almost seven years, he worked at the mobile centre. At the same time, he also started emceeing for programmes, worked on developing a mobile application for an online portal and was active on social media as well as writing short poems.

“Unfortunately, again there was a growth near my lungs last year. It was about 12 cm, but with medicines it was reduced to one cm. I was on medication for the next six months, only to notice the growth increase to 14 cm. With chemotherapy, it has been reduced to 8 cm. I have more sessions of chemo to go,” he said. In the last ten years, he has been counselling patients at a private nursing home and has also formed a WhatsApp group where they collect funds to help needy patients.

“Whenever I get to know that someone in a family or friend or relative is suffering from cancer, I go and speak to them. Disease should be restricted to the body and not to the mind. The body can be treated, but not the mind. It is important for people to follow a diet that has more natural food and avoid preservatives,” he said.

source: http://www.bangaloremirror.indiatimes.com / Bangalore Mirror / Home> News> State / by Bangalore Mirror Bureau / March 01st, 2017