After recovering from Laryngeal Cancer through proper surgery & therapy more than 15 years ago, he took up the work of educating fellow patients suffering from Cancer of the Larynx. Teaching patients, how to speak, after Laryngeal Surgery, became his passion and today Cancer Centre, Thakurpukur boasts of a 200 + strong team of patients who can speak through the miracle of speech therapy without having voice boxes!!

One of his speech therapy students, Mr. Gurudas Mukherjee recounts how he was detected with laryngeal Cancer in 1995, when he was only 36. Being in sales, and a chain smoker at that, he was unable to follow repeated medical advice to rest his voice. Gradually, he developed a persistent cough & hoarseness & was found to have vocal cord nodules. Biopsy proved the existence of Cancer and he was advised immediate surgery. For him, at that time, being the only bread earner of his family, with a 2-month-old son, the situation was almost impossible to face. However, managing to gather funds, he underwent surgery followed by a 25 day Radiotherapy session. Thereafter he took speech therapy from Mr. Bibhuti Chakraborty & within a short span of 3 months, was able to lead an absolutely normal life again! Today, he is a Postal agent, marketing Post office schemes to prospective clients, with his vocal prowess! He leads a healthy life, even taking care of his family's requirements. His experience, he says has taught him to be extremely aware of the body's warning signals. He advises all people to take quick steps to ensure correct treatment of the smallest of ailments so that they never become severe. Also, he advises avoidance of addictive substances such as tobacco, pan masala etc. because as they say, anything in excess is bad for you. Good habits, exercise, timely food & suitable lifestyle restrictions go a long way in controlling the expression of disease - in other words, "A stitch in time, saves nine!"

A teacher with Loretto Day School, Bowbazaar, she was detected with Breast Cancer in 1997. Looking back, Ms. Chakraborty says that it was very difficult for her to believe that a person like her, who had never suffered from so much as fever, could have been diagnosed with cancer!

An exceptional student throughout, the beautiful Ms. Chakraborty has been successful in all her academic pursuits, including an M.Sc. in Physiology from AIIMS, Delhi followed by a B. Ed. in Biology from Jadavpur University. Being an NCERT scholar throughout, she is a dynamic & optimistic personality, used to seizing the opportunities that life offers. So, when she faced Cancer, her first thought was - "Why waste a single day in self pity, when I don't know how many days I have?" Having a close knit family alone worried her as she was sure her diagnosis would cause them a lot of suffering.

Being Diagnosed with Stage II of Breast Cancer at 46 years, Ms. Chakraborty underwent surgery in June 1997 followed by Radiation for 5 weeks. She returned to her job in September, 1997, less than 3 months after her surgery, and started Chemotherapy. The hairloss was depressing but did not deter her from carrying on with her life normally. She remembers explaining to her students about the hairloss and asking them not to be distracted by it!!

"Taking interest in your therapy helps in the process of recovery", she says "because it is important to share your concerns with your doctor as well as understand the expected therapy goals & the patient's co-operation in optimizing the treatment."
To the medical fraternity, she says - "As a patient I always compared the cost of the treatment to the value of my life, in my perception. Therefore, it is important to understand the patient's concerns before advising him/her any treatment, so that the patient can avail of the same in his/her capacity."