Over the last 6-8 weeks, I am kind of busy with a consulting assignments which is taking me away from Bangalore almost 20-25 days away including travel time!! So my blog post would be erratic!! Please pardon me over next few months!
However, what is occupying mind in my free time is the Cancer that has recurred and fast spread of Secondaries on Dad over the past 4 weeks. He was operated for removal of left Kidney in 2015 ( Dad is now 80) having diagnosed with Renal Carcinoma. Dad, a Ph.D,worked as a Scientist,carrying out his research on Electrochemistry and specialisation in Anti Corrosion treatment with corrosion inhibhitors. The patents and research papers he published, involved quiet a lot of handling and exposure of Amines and its derivatives in his tenure between 1961-1999! My assumption is that lack of data on health hazard then as well as inadequate Personnel Protective Equipment (PPE) besides non standard field condition of exposure like bridge construction etc would have been the ideal scenario of exposure to cause harm. The chronic effort after 15+ years of retirement goes to show how latent these substances reside in body and attacks when body resistance starts to weaken.
What is sad is few of dad’s colleagues have passed away due to cancer at various organs (Tongue, Lung, Bone, Throat)! I wonder whether we could have done anything when alarm went off say a decade back when the news of death started coming in!! I guess not??
This goes to show how to be more protective about one’s health on exposure to chemical substances. Industrial Hygiene, Occupational Medicine plays a key part to provide a safe working place. I am glad, over the last 10+ years the work place analysis, technology for sampling, Sophisticated instruments to detect even low concentration of contaminants as well as technology to provide a clean workplace with local exhausts, personal protective equipment as well as substitution of chemicals have been in place. I wish organisations, who really value employee’s health and well-being, take every effort to implement such measures of providing proactive clean work space. It is their obligation and no effort is considered less in fulfilling these requirements.
I am now doing every effort to make his end game painless and peaceful, (Doctors have ruled out chemotherapy as he is too fragile,more so secondaries are tough to predict as to where it shall spread) !! Irony is that as I was telling my wife this morning over phone call, I am in midst of a very tight business engagement which is keeping me away from attending to him physically at my home town, Karaikudi in Tamil Nadu, after all these years of me being busy, just 8-10 days of assignments, the very idea of me switching to consultancy in 2012, to spend quality time with family, thus escaping the wretched corporate life of 27 years!!
Man Proposes, God Disposes!
Take care, Stay Safe.
Regards
Karthik
6th Aug 2017, 1020am, Hyderabad Rural.
Update 17th AUG 1900 Hrs:- Father passed away, 15th AUG 2017, 1930 Hrs at my Hometown, Karaikudi, TN. The end was swift, painless with dear and near around him.
Health, Environment, Safety, Sustainability (HESS) 