‘Let’s talk about Parkinson’s’

Dr Kshama Valsangkar’s book blends medical expertise with deeply personal experience, offering a practical guide for patients, carers, and even medical students.

A new and significant addition to popular medical literature has been made with a book, ‘Let’s talk about Parkinson’s’, written by Dr Kshama Valsangkar.

Parkinson’s is a complex disease, and it involves a gradual degeneration of the nervous system. In the early stages, the symptoms are so mild that the patient often does not even notice them. But slowly, the disease takes complete control and makes the patient’s daily life difficult.

Dr Kshama herself is familiar with the human nervous system, whose abnormal behaviour is mainly responsible for Parkinson’s. There is a touch of authority in this book because Dr Kshama's husband, Dr Satish, himself a renowned surgeon, is at present fighting advanced Parkinson’s, and Dr Kshama is caring for him. Dr Satish accepted this illness with great positivity. Dr Kshama has observed and witnessed the onset and progression of Parkinson’s, including its symptoms, implications, causes, and medical treatment.

The foreword of this book, Dr Kshama, titled ‘Why this book’, narrates the disease, how it differs from other diseases, and the necessity of its awareness in society.

While taking complete care of her husband, Dr Kshama studied this disease in depth. She also gathered information about the experiences of other patients. Dr Kshama has referred to extensive literature on the subject, as the bibliography shows. Thus, this book reflects the author’s medical knowledge and personal experience, as well as her detailed study and research of this disease.

Serving knowledge

Dr Kshama wrote the book so that the knowledge she gained could serve as a guide for other patients with Parkinson’s. More importantly, this book encourages positive thinking about the disease.

Parkinson's is the fastest-growing neurological disease in the world today. Dr Kshama has noticed that the number of patients with Parkinson’s is increasing, and although this is a disease primarily of the elderly, it is also seen at a young age. Parkinson’s is often misunderstood, especially in the case of elderly people. The severity of the disease is seen in small villages due to a lack of knowledge, awareness, and proper medical support.

There are several medical volumes available on Parkinson’s, but the beauty of this book is that it is small and comes with a wealth of information about this crippling disease. This book is a total of 96 pages divided into 20 chapters. Each chapter’s heading is carefully thought out and enhances one’s curiosity. In each chapter, as indicated by its title, Dr Kshama has provided detailed information related to Parkinson’s. The initial symptoms of the disease, the gradual changes that occur, medications, diet, exercises, precautions to avoid injuries, patients’ hobbies, problems faced by family members, and many such aspects are explained thoroughly, making the content truly informative and helpful.

Spreading disease

When Dr Kshama started exploring the topic of Parkinson’s disease, she found that a lot of research has been done during the last ten years and was also surprised to note that the disease is spreading unabatedly all across the world, and the number of patients with Parkinson’s disease is increasing. She has also estimated the current global patient count and how much it may rise in the future. The author notes that Parkinson’s is seen not only in the elderly but also in younger individuals. She highlights that the changing lifestyles, lack of balanced diet and exercise, increasing stress, and exposure to pesticides and other harmful substances are some of the major causes of Parkinson’s disease. Further, she found that though the advanced medical treatments are available nowadays, there is a huge lack of awareness about Parkinson's. This book aims to raise awareness about this disease. For someone newly diagnosed, it could be very helpful to know all aspects of Parkinson’s and the proper care of the patient.

In the chapter ‘Rays of hopes’, Dr Kshama introduces the global research that aims to diagnose Parkinson’s even before symptoms appear so that the disease can be prevented or its progression slowed. She explains the new diagnostic methods, advancements in medications, and other forms of treatment present an encouraging and hopeful picture. This book serves as a reference book. It is at once informative for laymen and useful for medical students. The book is simple yet professional. The author's writing style is very lucid. It is a must-read book for all.

(The writer is a science communicator based in Pune.)