Bhubaneswar: A small town boy from Odisha who had started his journalism career over two decades back had never imagined he would face a terminal illness at the peak of his career. However, he is fighting the cancerous brain tumor with the hope of scaling greater heights in his profession.
In the year 1998, an 18-year-old job aspirant from Rourkela had arrived in Bhubaneswar with a certificate in Television Direction & Production. Though he wanted to start his career as a Production Assistant in a regional new channel Odisha TV, he landed the job as a journalist.
The young boy is Kamal Kumar, whose openness to learn new things and accept challenges took him from Bhubaneswar to several places and organisations across Middle East, North America, and the Indian subcontinent in a span of over 20 years.
In his long career, he has worked as an Editor, Senior Producer, and a member of the launch team of AJ+, Al Jazeera’s first all-digital network; as Managing Editor and Senior Producer in TRT World, global English language channel of Turkish National broadcaster TRT; and as a freelance Video Journalist for British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC); covering stories on politics, human rights, natural history, conflict resolution, insurgency, art, and culture.
A Peek At Kamal’s Work
Special story of Islamic calligraphy by Kamal for TRT World
Humans of War (TRT World’s special editorial project) with Kamal as Managing Editor
Kamal’s life took a turn when he had returned to India from Turkey and had got an offer to do a documentary on child abuse. It was while he was preparing for the project by the end of 2020, he experienced an excruciating headache and loss of vision.
He wrapped up his shoot and rushed back home. Subsequently, he visited the hospital and after a few tests like CT scan and MRI, Kamal was diagnosed with GBM wild type, a brain tumor.
He was suggested immediate surgery and complete removal of the tumor. Kamal’s family took him to Fortis Memorial Research Institute, Gurugram, where he was operated on December 29, 2020, while the world was waiting to welcome the New Year.
The results of the biopsy of his tumor said that it was cancerous and that too of the last stage. But neither he nor his surgeon and family lost their hopes. Whatever resources his sisters, friends, and father from his pension funds could pull out for his treatment has helped him to be on his feet so far.
“I am very lucky to have my friends, brothers, and sisters stand with me at this moment. I am struggling because of the disease and personal reasons but there are millions of people out there who are in a worse situation than me,” says Kamal.
The situation worsened as his MRI report after nine months of surgery suggested that his tumor and cancer were coming back. The tumor board of the Fortis Hospital (Gurugram) put him on advanced chemotherapy that comprises 6 sessions and each session costs around Rs 75,000. The subsequent treatment cost may extend to lakhs of rupees.
With his current situation, he and his family are facing difficulty paying for the sessions and further treatment.
“As a journalist, I have to be out and about in the field. I cannot write a story and do justice with it by sitting in an AC room. I have to get close to the story. That is not possible as my health doesn’t permit that. It is also the mindset of the organisation, as nobody wants to take the risk by giving a job or freelance project to a terminally ill person,” says Kamal.
He presently has an offer from the China Global Television Network to join as Editor, International News Desk, but the Covid-19 pandemic and his health condition are playing spoilsport.
Meanwhile, Kamal has sought financial support from the public through the online crowdfunding platform Ketto. One can extend their help through the following link: https://www.ketto.org/fundraiser/i-need-your-urgent-support-for-my-glioblastoma-gbm-glioblastoma-multiforme-treatment-567046
Kamal can be contacted at kamalpkumar@gmail.com
