Originally from Kerala, 72 year old Mr. Morris has spent much of his life working as an army personal in various extreme locations of India serving the country. He moved to Chennai when his children took a job here. A very active ex-serviceman walking more than 5 miles a day.

Initial Diagnosis:

Nearly 5 years ago, in June 2012, he came down with a sudden weakness of both his lower limbs and difficulty to pass urine. His local doctor told that he needed urgent investigations and treatment to be done in a higher center or else he may suffer permanent paralysis of his legs.

Referral to MIOT:

He was referred to MIOT where we diagnosed him with a type of a blood cancer named Multiple Myeloma.

Multiple Myeloma is a type of cancer that forms in the plasma cells in bone marrow and weakens the bone to cause pain and fractures.

‘A lot of people say, ‘Why me?’ but he was, ‘Why not me?’ His first task, however, was to tell his daughters about his diagnosis. After a bit of googling and extensive counseling by doctors, Mr. Mathews got hope to fight the cancer back.

Treatment at MIOT:

He was started on chemotherapy and three months later, in the winter of 2012, he had an Autologous stem cell transplant. His own stem cells were harvested. He was then treated with a high dosage of chemotherapy to destroy his tumor cells, and then his stem cells were given back to him.

An AUTOLOGOUS TRANSPLANT (or rescue) is a type of transplant that uses the person’s own stem cells. These cells are collected in advance and returned at a later stage.

Down the lane:

Today Mr. Morris visits our hospital for his heart and eye problems but pops into Haemato-oncology department only to say “hello”. We still search for his Myeloma by doing regular blood tests but we never found it as on date.

If you are a regular jogger, do go to Besant Nagar before 6 A.M. You can spot this gentleman overtaking you!! “People say you only live once,” he says often, “but really you only die once. You live every day.”

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