When the day finally arrives that cancer is cured, the name of Yellapragada Subbuarow will join the list of those who worked tirelessly to this effect. In treating patients with chemotherapy, mitigating its side-effects or even administering antibiotics to tackle plague outbreaks, Subbarow’s work is owed a due.
Twice in his life, Subbarow tried to run away from the trappings of a career. The first time was when his family was struck by hardship and he devised a scheme to sell bananas to tourists in Varanasi. The second time was after he completed high school, and sought to join the Ramakrishna Mission as an ascetic. Subbarow lost his father when he was 18. On both occasions, his mother prevented him from making the leap. But on realising that he could achieve his goal of serving humanity by becoming a doctor, Subbarow decided to study medicine.
He joined the Madras Medical College in 1915. To support his education, he borrowed money from his friends and from a patron Kasturi Suryanarayana Murthy. The mood of the country was in revolution and Gandhi’s Swadeshi movement was making waves. Rather than do something overtly rash again, Subbarow opted simply to wear a Khadi surgical gown. But this annoyed his medical professor, who saw to it that the homespun-doctor graduated with the lesser L.M.S degree instead of an M.B.B.S.
The spectre of tropical sprue haunted Subbarow’s life. The condition nearly brought him to death while he was in college, but he survived. Soon after, he lost both his elder and younger brothers to suspected sprues. With this profound loss, he found a determination to tackle such diseases. The United States was the place to go.
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