A 75-year-old security guard fighting cancer has died after facing treatment delays at Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai on Wednesday, March 5. The patient, Rajendra Joshi, could not start chemotherapy due to diagnostic confusion and the absence of a carer to assist him with the side effects.
Joshi first visited KEM Hospital on February 20. Doctors suspected hematolymphoid malignancy, a type of blood cancer. However, KEM does not have facilities to treat cancers other than breast cancer. Hence, KEM referred him to TMH for further treatment.
As per reports, the hospital does not start chemotherapy without reviewing slides, as incorrect treatment could have severe consequences. Before chemotherapy could begin, TMH specialists asked Joshi to provide tissue blocks and biopsy slides from KEM for histological evaluation.
Chemotherapy was avoided without slides. His daughter, Kavita Joshi, accompanied him to doctor’s visits. Joshi’s condition worsened. He returned to TMH on February 26 but was unable to provide the biopsy specimens.
Due to suspected cancer, doctors recommended a PET scan. However, the waiting period at TMH was long. He was advised to get the scan at the Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Kharghar.
The earliest available appointment was on March 6. Joshi’s symptoms worsened, with increasing breathlessness and a swollen leg. He was evaluated at Seven Hills Hospital by Vikas Bali. There, he was diagnosed with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma.
On March 3, he returned to TMH but still did not have the biopsy slides from KEM. This time, Bali arranged for an attendant to assist him. Interestingly, pre-phase chemotherapy can be started without histological confirmation. However, this treatment carries risks, including severe vomiting.
Without proper follow-up, complications could be life-threatening. It has been reported that Joshi's attendant was unreliable and could not guarantee proper follow-up care. Kavita Joshi has claimed that she had informed hospital staff she would be available by the evening of March 3. TMH doctors, however, said they were not informed of this.
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