By IANS,
Guwahati : A man who was earlier diagnosed with lung cancer is now participating in an expedition to reach the last advanced base camp of the world’s highest peak Mount Everest. He claims to have been cured by the same doctor who achieved notoriety by transplanting a pig’s heart into a human patient in 1996.
Sanjib Baruah, 26, is on a mission to make it to the last advanced base camp located at an altitude of about 20,000 feet.
Hailing from Sivasagar in eastern Assam, Sanjib was diagnosed as suffering from lung cancer last year, with doctors in some of the renowned cancer hospitals in Mumbai almost giving up hope.
With family members and friends almost resigned to their fate, Sanjib is believed to have got a new lease of life – courtesy genetic engineering treatment by Dhaniram Baruah, the controversial cardiac surgeon who shot into limelight for his infamous pig heart transplant surgery in 1996 that later landed him in jail.
The Medical Council of India barred Dhaniram from conducting future xenotransplantation surgeries, saying that it had been carried out without proper research.
The patient who was implanted with a pig’s heart by Dhaniram died within hours of the surgery although the controversial surgeon then maintained that the operation was successful.
Dhaniram was arrested on charges of culpable homicide and later released on bail.
Sanjib, who runs a news and feature service from Sivasagar, claims he was cured of the disease after undergoing treatment by Dhaniram.
The expedition rally was flagged off earlier this week by former Assam finance minister Devananda Konwar with Sanjib expected to leave from Kathmandu Oct 2 as part of a team of mountaineers under the Britain-based Himalayan Expedition.
“Doctors in Mumbai felt my life span was limited with the disease at an advanced stage. Dhaniram Baruah’s treatment did give me a new life and I am now cured,” Sanjib said.
Sanjib had earlier successfully completed a motorcycle tour of Arunachal Pradesh’s Tawang area at an altitude of 13,800 ft, besides other expeditions to mountains in Assam and Arunachal Pradesh.
“I want to prove that people should not resign and give up hope,” Sanjib said.