Woman finds out she is a man during treatment at Kolkata hospital
Kolkata: For thirty years she led a normal life with no complications, until recently, when doctors, while treating her for abdominal pain, discovered that she was a 'man' suffering from testicular cancer.
Surprisingly, her 28-year-old sister, who underwent necessary tests following the revelation, was also diagnosed with 'Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome' -- a condition in which a person is born genetically male, but has all physical traits of a woman.
The 30-year-old Birbhum resident, married for the last nine years, had visited city-based Netaji Subhas Chandra Bose Cancer Hospital with severe pain in lower abdomen a couple of months ago, following which clinical oncologist Dr Anupam Dutta and surgical oncologist Dr Soumen Das conducted her medical tests, and found out her "true identity".
"From her appearance, she is a woman. Starting from her voice, developed breasts, normal external genitalia, everything is that of a woman. However, uterus and ovaries have been absent since birth. She has also never experienced menstruation," Dr Dutta told PTI.
It's a very rare condition, and can be found one in every 22,000 people, he said.
After test reports suggested that the person has a "blind vagina", doctors decided to conduct Karyotyping test, which revealed that her chromosome complement was 'XY' and not 'XX', as found in a woman.
"We conducted clinical examinations, after she complained of abdominal pain, and found out she has testicles inside her body. A biopsy was conducted, following which she was diagnosed with testicular cancer, also called seminoma, Dr Dutta explained.
Currently, she is undergoing chemotheraphy and her health condition is stable.
"As her testicles remained undeveloped inside the body, there was no secretion of testosterone. Her female hormones, on the other hand, gave her the appearance of a woman," Dr Dutta stated.
Asked about her reaction to the revelation, he said, "The person has grown up to be a woman. She is married to man for almost a decade. Currently, we are counselling the patient and her husband, advising them to continue living life as they have been."
It was learnt, that the couple had tried for babies a number of times but failed. The patient's two maternal aunts were also diagnosed with Androgen Insensitivity Syndrome in the past, the oncologist said.
"It's probably in the genes. We have come to know that two of her aunts from the maternal side were also suffering from similar condition," he added.
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Odisha: Normalcy returns to violence-hit Malkangiri; internet services fully restored
Malkangiri (PTI): Normalcy returned to Odisha’s Malkangiri district on Monday, nearly a week after around 200 villages were damaged in violent clashes in a village, with the district administration fully restoring internet services, a senior official said.
Additional District Magistrate Bedabar Pradhan said internet services, suspended across the district on December 8 to curb the spread of rumours and misinformation following the clashes, were restored after the situation improved.
The suspension had been extended in phases till 12 noon on Monday.
The administration also withdrew prohibitory orders imposed under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita within a 10-km radius of MV-26 village, where arson incidents were reported on December 7 and December 8.
Though the violence was confined to two villages, tension had gripped the entire district, as the incident took the form of a clash between local tribals and Bengali settlers following the recovery of a headless body of a woman on December 4, officials said.
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The violence broke out after residents of Rakhelguda village allegedly set ablaze several houses belonging to Bengali residents, forcing hundreds to flee. The headless body of Lake Podiami (51), a woman from the Koya tribe, was recovered from the banks of the Poteru river on December 4, while her head was found six days later at a location about 15 km away.
Officials said the district administration held several rounds of discussions with representatives of the tribal and Bengali communities, following which both sides agreed to maintain peace.
Relief and rehabilitation work has since been launched at MV-26 village, with preliminary assessment pegging property damage at around Rs 3.8 crore.
A two-member ministerial team headed by Deputy Chief Minister K V Singh Deo visited the affected village, interacted with officials and locals, and submitted a report to the chief minister.
So far, 18 people have been arrested in connection with the violence, the officials said, adding that despite the withdrawal of prohibitory orders and restoration of internet services, security forces, including BSF and CRPF personnel, continue to be deployed to prevent any untoward incident.
On Sunday, Nabarangpur MP Balabhadra Majhi visited MV-26 and neighbouring Rakhelguda villages, and held discussions with members of both communities as part of efforts to rebuild confidence and restore peace.
More than two lakh Bengali-speaking Bangladeshis were rehabilitated by the Centre in Malkangiri and Nabarangpur districts in 1968, and they currently reside in 124 villages of Malkangiri.
