Cancer fear haunts

The book ‘The Fourth Sun Sign’ explores the spiritual and psycho-social interactions between a well-known cancer specialist and some of his patients. It is a tribute to his three decade practice in Oncology

‘The Fourth Sun Sign’, the name itself suggests the zodiac sign of Cancer. In spite of the advances in the advanced medical technology and treatment of cancer, people are generally still frightened when the doctor breaks the news of cancer.

Dr Santanu Chaudhuri, senior radiation oncologist narrates the stories of cancer victims who fought against the disease and emerged winners. Of course, there are some losers.

Fifteen cases are mentioned in the 180-page book with each of them unique in their own way. The oncologist during his three decades of practice came across a number of cases. It must have been difficult for him to choose the fifteen out of them. However, the cases he has selected make an impact on the reader.

The oncologist who is also a musician and an artist describes the hospital environment so well that one feels that one is actually present there listening to the trials and tribulations of the patients.

The doctor-cum-writer turns nostalgic at times and recalls his visits to various tourist spots creating interest in the reader to visit those places. Especially, when he describes the city of Mathura, where Lord Krishna was said to have born, the reader wants to visit the city immediately.

If one goes through the case studies of the cancer patients, one feels that they are the live characters with whom the doctor was interacting in your presence. Every anecdote starts with the description of nature and that description is somehow interspersed with the life of the cancer patient.

The reader is introduced to various types of cancers making him feel that he has become a specialist of a sort. Names like Acute Lymphoblastic Leukaemia, Hodgkin’s Lymphoma (cancer of body lymphatics), Ewing’s Sarcoma (childhood cancer of bones), Thyroid cancer, Nasopharyngeal carcinoma, retinoblastoma (cancer of the eye) among others makes the reader flabbergasted.

The doctor who is also musician makes us known his speciality in music with the introduction of Ustad Niyazuddin Khan, the great classical vocalist, who is impressed by the singing skill of the doctor.

In one anecdote, the reader is reduced to tears after learning about the young boy, who lost his eyesight to retinoblastoma.

As part of the various anecdotes, the reader is taken to various resorts across the Indian subcontinent making him wonder how the busy doctor finds time to love nature. In one word, the reader feels fulfilled after completing the book.