Ashok Sebastian Komaranchath, Consultant Medical Oncology and Clinical Lead for Oncology Services at Burjeel Cancer Institute, shared on LinkedIn:
“Behind almost every doctors choice of becoming a doctor, there is usually an inspiration. Usually in the form of a person or persons. For me it was my parents, my father in particular.
I believe the same applies for doctors in their chosen specialties.
I chose oncology because of one man. Dr Joseph Thomas an American educated oncologist, whom I first met during my Internal Medicine residency speciality posting at KMC Manipal some time in 2009.
He taught me that a cancer ward wasn’t the same as death row in a prison. Many of my misconceptions changed during that one month posting. One of the first to go was cancer patients on chemo would be vomiting incessantly, having excruciating pain, emptying their bowels continuously and be emaciated like a concentration camp survivor.
One of the first sights I saw in his (yes it was very firmly his own for all practical purposes) chemo ward, were three gentlemen, two on corner metal beds and a third on a rickety chair, playing cards. I remember one had a card stuck on his ear (anyone who plays cards can figure out what that means!) I went through their notes.
Pages of beautiful hand written chemo orders and notes, outlining that they had just received, that morning a substantial dose of one of the most vomiting inducing medicines on the planet, Cisplatin.
They were coolly playing cards and laughing and generally having a whale of a time.
After I fixed my jaw back to my face I asked him how this was possible. This was his answer, ‘If your patient on chemotherapy vomits more than once, you don’t know how to do your job.’
I learned a lot that month, especially from those beautiful hand written notes which sir used to come at 7am every morning and personally write for each and every patient getting chemo that day. A minimum of one A4 page with exquisite detail, that no nurse or orderly could get wrong, written with a vintage ink pen.
Paraphrasing a favourite action movie, Dr Joseph Thomas was a man of focus, commitment and sheer will. Some things I knew very little about. He was also particular about a few things.
His shoes were always a size 12 Hish Puppies.
His shirts were always made by Arrow, a shade of blue.
And his pen, the one he wrote those amazing notes with, was always a Cross.. with black ink.
Over the past 17 years, many of his mannerisms and personal choices have become part of my life too. I too wear hush puppies, light blue Arrow shirts. But I never had a cross fountain pen. Last week, on a whim I decided to get one from Amazon, perhaps fitting that it had to come imported from the US.
For all my patients today, I wrote with this pen. I’m not sure if happy is the word for what I felt, nor is nostalgic. But there was a sense of calm…and peace.
Rest In Peace dear sir.
The words are by his favourite musician, someone from the same city he trained in Oncology for and by happenstance once treated the mother of this legendary artist, John Denver.”
Other articles from Ashok Sebastian Komaranchath on OncoDaily.
