A man with a cancer-affected stomach surprised surgeons when he asked for biryani as a last meal before the surgery. An engineer in Dubai who was diagnosed with stage-three cancer gorged on his favourite plate of biryani before undergoing a surgery to remove his stomach.
According to a report by the Khaleej Times, Ghulam Abbas had two options at hand: Either die of stomach cancer or get his stomach removed. He obviously chose the latter and asked for a chicken biryani as his last meal. He told the leading daily, “I asked the doctor if I could have chicken biryani as my last meal before the surgery. My wife prepared it and my brother carried it to the hospital. I sort of gorged on it.”
A father of two, Abbas was diagnosed with stage three cancer after he had sudden weight loss and frequent vomiting. Tests revealed that he had a huge tumour that covered almost his entire stomach. “It’s the most devastating decision and yet the answer was clear, I had to do whatever it looks to save my life. I did not want my children to grow up without my presence; I did not want to lose the opportunity to see their milestones, watch them laugh, even fight. I was not going to give up on my family and me. I just wanted to hold on to life,” he told the leading daily.
Dr. Ali Khammas, head of general surgery and consultant laparoscopic surgeon at Rashid Hospital stated that cancer in young patients is seen to be ‘very aggressive’. Which is why there is often no option but to perform a total gastrectomy. Abbas underwent total gastrectomy, a first-of-its-kind surgery in Dubai and after the operation proved to be successful, he is undergoing chemotherapy.