While educating others about cancer ... specialist consultant Ariyasena Gamage (brother-in-law of S.B.) passes away!

While educating others about cancer ... specialist consultant Ariyasena Gamage (brother-in-law of S.B.) passes away!

One of the leading and distinguished community physicians of Sri Lanka, Dr. Ariyasena Gamage who wrote and communicated a host of articles related to the field of medicine has passed away.

He has been the author of a number of publications such as 'Rajek vunath ledek vunoth' authored a series of articles titled 'vedek vunath ledek vunoth' during the last stages of his life, then went on to

educate the public about all aspects of the sickness continuously. It was last February 10th that he directed the 95th article of that series for the last time to Facebook.

Dr. Ariyasena U. Gamage happened to be married to a sister of minister S.B. Dissanaika and at the time of his death he was 66 years old. For a period of time before his death he had been warded at Malabe Neville Fernando Hospital and was under treatment. When suspicion was aroused during recent past culminating in a conflict between Sinhalese - Muslims, a number of media reported an explanation which he had made about that medical phenomena several years ago. He had told newspapers that he was motivated towards community medicine as a result of the influence of his mentors such as, Prof. Nandadasa Kodagoda, Prof. Carlo Fonseka and Prof. Colvin Gunaratna and for the same reason had loved communicating medical science.

"I got married to Manel Dissanaika who studied with me at Medical College. She too isa doctor. She is the sister of Minister S.B. Dissanaika. Both my daughters too are doctors. They are married also to doctors", he had told a newspaper in 2017. It is mentioned thus: "I was someone who was hale and hearty. As a community physician I maintained my height and weight in an exemplary manner to the public. I engaged in physical exercises daily and lived a healthy life. My age now is 65. Both my mother and fatherare those who had a long span of life. My mother is still among the living. My estimate was that I would live to 85 years. I never had an idea that I would contract cancer. About 5 months before this I happened to observe something like a small boil underneath my arm pit and it was not painful. At that time I was quite healthy. But in any case I got medical examinations such as ESR, CRP, WBC, RBC done. Anyway I got to know nothing special from those.  After that I thought of removing that boil from Peradeniya Medical Faculty where I an presently attached to and thus faced a surgery. I came to know results about that boil in 5 days. The result in fact was something I never dreamed of. I came to know that the boil under my arm pit was a cancer known as 'non-Hodgkin's lymphoma which spreads pretty fast.

This began to grow quite fast. During this 65 years I have done a 100 years of work. I am a person who has done my duties to both my family as well as the country. I have the blessings of people all over the world.

Dr. Mr. Gamage's mortal remains lie at his home in Beligammana in Mawanella. His final rites would be conducted at 6 in the evening on 1st Sunday at Mawanella crematorium. His photograph published in Facebook