Can we intigrate the encient indian methods of treatment like Ayurveda with
the modern methods of medical research to combat conditions like R. P.?
----- Original Message -----
From: "Vamshi. G" <gvamsh...@gmail.com>
To: "accessindia" <accessindia@accessindia.org.in>
Sent: Friday, July 15, 2011 8:22 PM
Subject: [AI] Stand up and be counted
Dear Friend:
Helen Keller, the first deafblind person in the world to get a
Bachelor’s degree, once said, "Alone we can do so little; together we
can do so much."
A good example of what can be achieved if people work together is the
“Manhattan Project”. This was an amazing example of what focus and
undiluted commitment can achieve, even though it was unfortunately for
a destructive purpose. This project brought experts together with the
single minded focus on building the atomic bomb. They did manage to
achieve that, in just a span of three years, which otherwise would
have taken almost half a century.
In a way, we in Retina India are also focused on destruction, but of a
totally different kind. Of destroying the cause of a vision impairing
retinal disease, whatever it may be. What do we learn from the
Manhattan Project? That we need the devotion, the focus and the
undiluted commitment from all the stakeholders. To understand what it
means, let us talk about Mary Lasker.
Why is Mary Lasker famous? Mary was an expert housewife, just like
thousands and thousands of women in India. One fine day, she received
a rude jolt when her husband was diagnosed with cancer. The two
together knocked on the doors of every hospital and every research
laboratory to find a cure for his disease. But to no avail. Mary had
to stand by helplessly and watch as cancer slowly took the life away
from her husband. And she could not do anything about it.
But Mary did not just sit down, lost and dejected. She decided that
she would challenge the same disease that took her husband’s life. She
knew something needed to be done. The field, as it stood then, needed
to change the way it worked. And she could help in what she could do
best, which is to talk about the field in various forums, about the
research work, about scientists and doctors who were treating those
diseases, about things that the researchers needed, about raising
funds, about bringing a change in the field of research.
Today, the field of cancer looks back with gratitude to Mary for
making a difference. It is, in no small measure due to her that cancer
treatment has chemotherapy and radiation therapies as treatment
options. The National Cancer Institute in the US is also a living
example of what could be achieved by her.
I am sure we have enough Mary Laskers in India. Or the male versions
of Mary. If one Mary could bring about a change in cancer research in
the world, imagine what a couple of you can do. Or a few hundreds. If
change has to come to India in the way research is conducted in India;
in the way treatments are developed, all of us have to become a Mary
Lasker. .
For decades now, doctors and researchers have been trying to do what
is possible. And patients/families waited. As some of you know,
diabetes has been known to human race for centuries, and yet we do not
have a cure for it. We in India face a major hurdle with diabetes and
diabetic retinopathy. Now, and for years to come. On similar lines,
Retinitis pigmentosa was first named and diagnosed more than 150 years
back. And yet, we do not have a cure for it at this time.
We in India are facing a problem that is unheard of anywhere in the
world. It is estimated that we have about 10 million people with
Diabetic Retinopathy, about 3 million with Macular Degeneration, more
than 1 million with Retinitis Pigmentosa, and about 3 million with
Retinopathy of Prematurity. Just these four diseases total to 17
million Indians.
For all these patients, and their families, and for the doctors &
other experts in India who treat them, we have two options. One is to
wait, and wait more, for research and treatment to be developed
elsewhere, following which it would come to India. Or else, we do
something ourselves within India.
All these years, we, as patients, and family members, as doctors and
researchers, have been waiting for the developed nations for research
and development of new treatments, and to hope that some day, that
work reaches Indian shores. And yet, we continue to tell patients we
do not have anything to treat a patient. Why do we face this
condition? Is there a lack of dedication and commitment from our
doctors? I do not think so. We have the best doctors and the most
committed individuals in the field. Is it lack of funds? Maybe. India
did not have the booming economy before what it is now. And yet, even
today, getting money to answer some of the fundamental questions about
a disease, or a treatment's safety and efficacy, is not an easy job.
Is there a lack of coordinated effort from all the stakeholders? Yes.
It is also quite possible that the treatment options developed in
elsewhere might not work in Indian patients. Importantly because most
diseases, and some of the new treatments, treat the disease at the
molecular level; at the level of the gene. And as we know, our genetic
basis is different from those in the developed world. So once we find
out, we will have to wait even more for new treatments to develop.
Or else, we, all of us, rise up to the challenge, and decide to work
together to claim the same level of scientific excellence India was
known before.
I think the time has come for us to choose the second option. For
every individual to stand up. To come together and work towards
findings solutions for the problems we face. We need a coordination of
medical & scientific work, and the same sort of focus and undiluted
commitment that was demonstrated in the Manhattan Project. From all
the stakeholders.
Retina India has been started not to be one more of the same. No. With
our unique objectives, and our focus on collaboration between
patients/families on the one hand, and experts on the other, we
strongly believe that the organization can do something of
significance to change the field. But what is even more important at
this time is not what the organization can do for you. The
organization actually needs you, as in you individually, to step
forward, and do your bit.
And one way to start off is to support retinAware 2011. The national
convention of Retina India. On Sep 24 & 25 this year at the Vigyan
Bhavan, New Delhi. To be inaugurated by Dr APJ Abdul Kalam. Where we
are collecting the best minds in India. With some of the best in the
world. To think collectively of India. And us Indians.
We can find 11 committed individuals to come together to win the
Cricket World Cup, and a nation of 1.2 billion to cheer them on as a
team. Why can’t we find enough numbers to come together to make a
difference in the field of retinal treatment and care?
Think about it.
---
Regards,
Dr Rajat N Agrawal
Founder & Managing Trustee,Retina India
From Darkness Unto Light
www.retinaindia.org
--
G. Vamshi
PH Res : +91 877-2243861
Mobile: +91 9949349497
E-mail ID:
gvamsh...@gmail.com
Skype: gvamshi81
www.retinaindia.org
From darkness unto light
Search for old postings at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/
To unsubscribe send a message to
accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in
with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please
visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
Search for old postings at:
http://www.mail-archive.com/accessindia@accessindia.org.in/
To unsubscribe send a message to
accessindia-requ...@accessindia.org.in
with the subject unsubscribe.
To change your subscription to digest mode or make any other changes, please
visit the list home page at
http://accessindia.org.in/mailman/listinfo/accessindia_accessindia.org.in
