Published on: January 31, 2012

On Saturday, January 28, Pallium India-USA and the community of Silicon Valley, California were honored with a special guest.

Pallium India chairman Dr. M.R. Rajagopal gave a talk to a full house at the private home of Dr. Jyoti Lulla, a well known and respected Saratoga physician and community member.

The event, organized by Pallium India-USA, was well attended by many physicians, healthcare workers, Silicon Valley executives and engineers, and others who wished to learn more about the work Pallium is doing in India.

Pallium India-USA Volunteers

Dr. Jerina Kapoor, chair of Pallium India-USA introduced Dr. Rajagopal.

Dr. Rajagopal’s hard hitting and at times emotionally intense talk took on the serious problem of suffering and pain relief in India.

He told two stories: one of a poor woman, Sangeeta, whose mother was dying of cancer. Her own future was foreclosed on as a result of the impoverishment created by the absence of an adequate medical and social system. The second story was of a wealthy man, Mr. Das, who nonetheless was traumatized by his doctors’ insistence he undergo needless life-extending treatments.

Dr. Rajagopal challenged the audience to think about and plan for their own future.

“Most of us won’t have the good fortune of an instant death,” he said. “The majority will have a prolonged decline.”

A lively and passionate discussion followed his presentation. The quality of the talk was a sure sign that positive change is possible when it comes to caring for the seriously ill and dying around the globe.

In all a very successful event.

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One response to “Special Pallium Event in Silicon Valley”

  1. sunshine says:

    And here is a wonderful follow up–one of the attendees, writer Kalpana Mohan, wrote this post: http://www.saritorial.com/2012/01/extraordinary-people-living-by-gandhian-principles/

    Here are some of her inspired thoughts:
    “I went to listen to a presentation by Dr. M. R. Rajagopal, the father of palliative care in India, on the challenges of offering quality of life in the care of terminally ill patients. Dr. Rajagopal’s dream is to ensure that pain killers are available to critically ill patients.
    ”You cannot get a single tablet of morphine in 99% of India,” he says, listing the restrictions imposed by the Indian government in providing narcotics. Dr. Rajagopal is on a mission to bring palliative care to North India: in states like Uttar Pradesh where they have counted about 400,000 cancer patients, there is not even one center for palliative care.

    I was reflecting on how both these talks took place shortly before the anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. Like Gandhi, Steinem and Rajagopal continue to battle for change. Both fight for the rights of the marginalized segments of society.”