MUMBAI: Dr P Jagannath is no stranger to praise for his hands.
The 70-year-old onco (cancer) surgeon, who started his career at the Parel-based Tata Memorial Hospital in 1982, has for years heard versions of “Doctor Saab, aapke haath mein jadu hai (you have magic in your hands)” or “your hands have divine power” from the patients he has operated upon and their kin.
But at the same time, it is important to convey positivity and the will power of the people who have actually fought the disease and won. The book, which traces his journey as a bright student in Kurnool, Andhra Pradesh, to his karmabhoomi Mumbai, touches upon several stories of cancer patients from VIPs/ politicians, industry leaders, affluent and poor during four decades of Dr Jagannath’s professional life. Raheja Hospital – A Fortis Associate, Mumbai. He also currently serves as the chairman of surgical oncology at Lilavati Hospital & Research Centre, Bandra. “Cancer is a disease which is largely approached with a lot of negativity and fear. When I look back, I find a lot of stories of motivation or strong resilience among cancer patients. He is also known to have successfully completed the country’s maximum number of pancreatic resections – also called Whipple’s operations.
Having successfully operated on more than 8,500 cancer patients, the purpose of the book is to bring out success stories, says Dr Jagannath, who is a consultant in the surgical oncology department at S.L. Within cancer surgery, he is recognised as a pioneer of both Hepato-Pancreato-Biliary (HPB) surgery that he brought to India in 1985 and advanced rectal cancer preservation techniques.
“Cancer and war are equalisers,” he says. Success stories are important to be told. It’s also been very uplifting for me,” he said, seated in his consulting room at S L Raheja Hospital.
In 2000, Dr Jagannath established Crusade Against Cancer Foundation, which is a charitable trust that provides financial assistance to cancer-afflicted patients, particularly children, and supports cancer awareness and education. “AI used in this manner can prevent 60% of cancer patients from coming all the way to Mumbai since we can then empower local physicians and surgeons in respective cities or districts with treatment protocols. All the proceeds from his book will go to the Foundation. On the increasing number of private equity firms entering the sector, he warns, “Unlike charitable hospitals that were set up with corpus from family trusts, private equity firms will destroy the healthcare system, with the cost of treatment becoming very expensive. Healthcare, and in turn doctor-patient relationship, will become a business and not a service.”
