COVID-19 patient from Coimbatore dies of colon cancer in Ranipet
A 68-year-old patient with colon cancer died at a Christian Medical College campus in India after testing positive for COVID-19. Health officials clarified that the death was caused by cancer complications and respiratory failure, not the incidental COVID-19 infection.
Why it matters
Addresses public health concerns and corrects misinformation regarding COVID-19 mortality statistics in hospital settings.
A 68-year-old man from Coimbatore, who tested positive for COVID-19, died of carcinoma colon cancer on July 2 on the Ranipet campus of Christian Medical College (CMC).
Vellore District Health Officer M. Vijay Chandran told The Hindu that the victim was identified as P. Hillary Manoharan Benjamin, a retired person. He had been under treatment for colon cancer on the CMC’s Ranipet campus since February. “Mr. Benjamin tested positive for COVID-19 on June 20. It was an incidental infection that occurred owing to the extension of colon cancer to the lungs. The infection does not spread to other patients,” he said.
After he tested positive for COVID-19, Benjamin was admitted to the hospital at least four times before he died. The cause of death was identified as Type-1 respiratory failure, he said.
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