‘Comorbidities hamper course of treatment among cancer patients’

Doctor sheds light on metastatic malignancy, which the late Sahara Group founder Subrata Roy suffered from until his death

Subrata Roy, head of the Sahara India Pariwar, died at the age of 75 due to a cardiorespiratory arrest at Kokilaben Hospital in Mumbai on Tuesday. While the hospital declined to comment on the condition of Roy—who had been suffering from metastatic malignancy, hypertension and diabetes—at the time of his demise, oncologist Dr Sunil Chapode from Jaslok Hospital explained to mid-day what exactly is metastatic malignancy.

“It is when cancer spreads from the original place of growth to other organs,” he said, adding that comorbidities like diabetes and hypertension hamper the course of treatment for most cancer patients. “While comorbidities do not affect the outcome in cancer patients, they certainly impact the treatment part. Such patients have a higher rate of infection because of their sugar levels. They are also at a higher risk of side effects during the course of treatment,” he said.

Further explaining the correlation, he said it is not uncommon to see wounds in cancer patients take a longer time to heal if they have pre-existing comorbidities. He added that cardiorespiratory arrest is a common cause of death for most diseases. “It can be due to comorbidities if they have had it for a long time, and in cancer patients, cardiorespiratory arrest can occur when there is organ failure,” Dr Chapode said.

Sahara India Pariwar put out a statement that read, “Saharasri ji, an inspirational leader and visionary, passed away on November 14 at 10.30 pm due to cardiorespiratory arrest following an extended battle with complications arising from metastatic malignancy, hypertension and diabetes. He was admitted to Kokilaben Dhirubhai Ambani Hospital & Medical Research Institute on November 12 following a decline in health.” The statement mentioned that Roy's mortal remains would be taken to Lucknow for the last rites on Wednesday.

Nov 12
Day Roy was admitted to hospital 

Nov 14
Day Subrata Roy passed away in hospital

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