I'll die in 3 months, let me go home: Cancer patient's plea

Doctors have advised Abdul Sattar Mohammed Barak to go back to Chennai, Tamil Nadu, to spend the remainder of his life after the chronically sick cancer patient underwent two major surgeries removing his cancer-infected abdomen, leaving him only to live with fluids for 3,000 calories per day to sustain his life.
 
Diagnosed with stomach cancer, the 56-year-old Indian microbiologist in a private testing lab says he doesn’t get hungry for food after his abdomen was removed in two surgeries and that he is keen to go back and live with his two daughters, wife and elderly mother the rest of his life. He hails from Tanjavore, Tamil Nadu, India.
 
“Doctors advised me that I will live only for three to six months. After that, it is all God’s mercy and I may live up to six years. I haven’t been to India in six years, and haven’t seen my daughters or wife for that long. My last wish is to be with them when I die,” a businessman-turned-employee-turned-pauper told Emirates24|7.
 
“After spending 32 years in the Gulf, my situation is not good now. My weight has almost halved from 84kg to 44kg. I am losing weight by the day, and I’m dying little by little. Only three to six months is my life, as the doctors told me,” he added, fighting tears.
 
“I used to go to two leading private hospitals for stomach pain and they used to treat me for gastro problems. Even though I was admitted in these hospitals for severe stomach pain, they never diagnosed my stomach cancer. One day, when my stomach pain was so severe, doctors in the private hospital recommended me for endoscopic test that confirmed by cancer,” he said, adding that he may not live long.
 
“I used to undergo chemotherapy in Al Ain and my stomach was removed or resized through two major operations. Now I don’t feel hungry. For the past several months, I have been surviving only with fluid food like soups, rice water, fruit juices, coconut water, coffee, or milk.”
 
And what’s preventing him from going home is that four banks that have filed cases against him for defaulting credit cards, worth Dh40,000. Even though his treatment has been financed with the help of an insurance coverage from his employer, he is unable to go back to India for spending his last days with his family.
 
“I used to borrow from credit cards for spending money for my family, because I was not earning due to my sickness and I have lost everything including my house. Even if I go back now, we will be living in a rented house. I am desperate to be with my family for the rest of my life, but the credit card companies are not leaving me. Despite so many pleas for help and reconciliation, the cases filed by four banks remain intact, leaving me bedridden in the Al Khail Gate accommodation, sharing a room with five others.”
 
Uma Rani Padmanabhan, Indian Social Worker said she has been running from pillar to post seeking help to repatriate the chronically sick man, but the criminal cases filed by four banks for Dh50,000 are holding him back. Indian Consulate too intervened in the case but he remains in his sharing accommodation, fighting for life.
 
“Every hour, I have to drink 100ml litre liquid food and it is my roommates who are cooking this for me. Social workers are also helping me. I cannot walk because there is no energy and I don’t feel hungry at all. However, doctors said I have to take fluid food to survive,” he said.
 
Since May, I haven’t taken any solid food. Before that, I used to eat only small quantity of food,” he added. Having spent 10 years in the UAE and 22 years in Bahrain as a businessman and employee, he is almost a pauper.
 
The doctor who performed the surgery and follow-up treatment for his abdomen cancer has advised him to go to the cancer centre in Madurai after he reaches India. “Cancer treatment is an expensive affair and without medical insurance in India, I will be having a tough time. My only dream is that I can be with my family when I die,” he added.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.