Published on: May 21, 2018

There seems to be a “caste system” among symptoms too. What can be detected by an MRI scan gets attention. Not simple things like constipation. Obstinate constipation kills.

“My brother, a cancer patient was brought here from a private hospital in Pattom with swollen abdomen; the doctors there said his kidney is down but the doctors here found that the swelling was due to constipation… Within hours, the staff here relieved him of that condition,” says Raju from Varkala.

Palliative care is about looking at the person – not just the scans – thinking of his problems from his point of view and looking for solutions, some of which can be absurdly simple.

Read this article in Kaumudi, A heavenly abode for terminally ill