Health officials are perplexed as no trace of malignancy has been found in the preliminary medical examination of Manjit Kaur, a 38-year-old Bathinda-based woman who has been claiming that her septuagenarian father is forced to put up his house in Mehma Sarja village for sale to meet expenses for her cancer treatment.
Officials say there is no evidence to corroborate her cancer claims.
What surprised the district authorities more is that the woman has no medical record even as she claims to have been under cancer treatment for the last eight years.
Manjit confirms that she never underwent radiotherapy (RT) or chemotherapy and only surgeries were performed. Oncologists say it is a matter of investigation how a patient does not require any other chemo/RT or tablets (as for blood cancer patients) for a disease that spreads very fast in the body.
The story of the woman had invited a sympathetic reaction on social media after a section of the media reported the alleged inability of the family to pursue her treatment. People have started sending in money, confirms the family.
Bathinda civil surgeon Dr TS Dhillon said a panel, comprising a gynecologist, surgeon and a physician, examined the patient on Wednesday and several tests were conducted.
{{/usCountry}}Bathinda civil surgeon Dr TS Dhillon said a panel, comprising a gynecologist, surgeon and a physician, examined the patient on Wednesday and several tests were conducted.
{{/usCountry}}“Since Manjit could not produce any document of her stated treatment, the health department decided to get her examined medically. She could not even tell in which organ the malignancy was treated. Reports of mammography, ultrasound and X-ray were found normal. Pap smear report is expected to come later this week,” said Dhillon.
He clarified that Manjit’s malignancy in the past, if any, cannot be determined on the basis of her recent tests. “It is to be examined if the stated surgeries were related to the removal of benign cysts or fibroids in the breast or uterus or other ailments,” said Dhillon.
After her story surfaced on news channels on Sunday, district administration rushed a team to the village the next day. Deputy commissioner B Srinivasan said the health department was directed to get her examined and assure treatment at Bathinda-based Advanced Cancer Institute (ACI).
The woman’s father, Major Singh, a casual labourer, said he needs ₹3 lakh for Manjit’s surgery at a Jaipur hospital, the name of which the family could not recollect.
“About ₹25 lakh has been spent on my daughter’s treatment. We deserve support else I will have to sell my house. My ailing son does not earn enough for our family of seven persons,” he said.
Sarpanch of Mehma Sarja Kulwinder Singh said the family never approached the panchayat for any financial support. “I do not know if Manjit was living with her father. No one from the family approached me for a travel pass since strict travel restrictions were issued after the Covid-19 outbreak since March last year,” he said.