WHO WILL HAVE THE LAST LAUGH ? Humor in the face of Cancer

• My name is Venky Kumbakonam and am writing this for my friend Sanjeet Kumar, whose life turned upside down by a Lung Cancer Stage IV diagnosis few weeks ago.

• Sanjeet (37) lives with his wife Prity who is a homemaker & 2 kids Aashriya (5) and Divit (3.5 years old), in Charlotte NC. He is currently working as a contractor with one of the leading banks in the city.

• Sanjeet, apart from being a non-smoker & a teetotaler has been an active guy, used to jogging 5 times a week in the last few years. Apart from an occasional visit or 2 in the year for cough or cold, has always been healthy.

• January 2024 – he had cough and shortness of breath and in spite of the usual set of antihistamines did not go away was recommended Chest X-Ray and a CT scan.

• At the end of February (February 28th 2024), the world of Sanjeet and his family was never the same. The CT scan revealed 3 tumors in the lung, with the bigger one 6.5 inches in size and was invasive. What followed was a battery of tests that included bronchoscopy, MRI of the stomach and MRI of the brain.

• All the various tests and the visits to top cancer hospitals in Dallas and MD Anderson in Houston, TX have resulted in – Stage IV – Lung Cancer. Imagine that, for a non-smoker and that too within a few months of the problem arising. Today there are overall 55 tumors in his body (40 in Liver, 7 in the brain, 3 in Lung, 1 in pancreas and spine and 1 each in the left and right pelvic bone).

• Current Treatment – He is currently on a special medication called Tagrisso – which is kind of an oral chemotherapy. The monthly cost of it is close to $4900 per month after insurance coverage.

• I had to muster courage to ask the many questions I had which I don’t want any family or 37-year-old to have (1) what about survival rate & what is the life expectancy for Stage IV C Caner (2) what happens if you are not able to work? (3) What about your family and the precious 2 kids?

• Sanjeet smilingly says, “it has less than 8% survival rate after 5 years and in fact the median survival rate is around 4 month”. I felt like someone punched me on my chest. He smiling said “ Chiyanbe saal jeeyunga sir (I shall live upto 96)”.

• I always believed that there are 2 types of men in this world. Men who go to their death screaming & men who go to their death silently and then I met the third kind (from the 2006 cult film Rang De Basanti). Sanjeet definitely belongs to that club.

• Where will your vital contributions go? To his medications and other hospital related expenses, family maintenance and to the future of Sanjeet’s family.