Ilias Kanchan’s memory remains intact, condition stable

Actor and Nirapad Sarak Chai (Nischa) Chairman Ilias Kanchan, who has been undergoing treatment for a brain tumour, returned to Bangladesh in the first week of August after spending around a year and a half receiving treatment in London.

After spending 10 days in Dhaka with family members, colleagues and well-wishers, he returned to London on August 12 to resume treatment. During his brief stay, reports circulated on social media and elsewhere suggesting that Kanchan was having difficulty remembering things.

Tap here to add The Daily Star as a trusted source

His family physician, Dr Rubaiyat Rahman, however, has dismissed those concerns, saying Kanchan’s memory remains intact. According to the palliative care specialist, his illness has instead affected the coordination of his speech.

Rahman was in London during Kanchan’s treatment and returned to Dhaka after the actor arrived in the country on August 3.

Speaking to Prothom Alo about Kanchan’s current condition, Rahman said, “Ilias Kanchan is maintaining his usual lifestyle and daily routine, and even offering his five daily prayers regularly. I have prayed with him myself, with him leading the prayer. He has no restrictions or difficulties when it comes to eating.”

Discussing his treatment, Rahman said the location of the tumour makes it particularly difficult to access.
“It is no longer a secret that he has a brain tumour. The area of the brain where the tumour is located is quite difficult to reach. However, after he travelled to the UK in time, a significant portion of the tumour was removed through surgery. He subsequently received targeted chemotherapy and radiotherapy there,” he said.

Rahman described Kanchan’s present condition as stable, although he said it is too early to determine with certainty whether the disease could worsen. The actor is receiving the necessary treatment and is in reasonably good physical condition, he added.

Addressing reports that Kanchan has been forgetting things, the physician said, “His memory is clear. If you remind him of something, he immediately remembers it.”

Rahman explained that Kanchan’s primary difficulty lies not with memory, but with coordinating his speech.

“He remembers everything. He hasn’t forgotten anything. His only problem is the coordination of speech. The tumour is located in an area of the brain involved in connecting our thoughts and expressing them coherently. That is where he is experiencing some difficulty. But his memory is completely clear. He remembers everything and can talk for hours,” he said.

Citing a recent meeting with Kanchan at his Gulshan residence, Rahman recalled that the actor immediately asked when he had returned to Bangladesh from London. According to the physician, the exchange further indicated that Kanchan had no significant memory impairment.

Rahman also revealed that Kanchan underwent a CT scan in London around 10 to 15 days before returning to Dhaka. The scan showed no indication that the tumour had grown.

“The CT scan showed that the disease has not progressed. It’s a good sign. The medication and chemotherapy are working well,” Rahman said.

As long as there is no progression of the disease, doctors are not considering any new aggressive course of treatment, he added. While radiotherapy is not currently required, chemotherapy may need to continue, with preventing further growth of the tumour remaining a key objective.

During his 10-day stay in Bangladesh, Kanchan spent time with family, longtime colleagues and well-wishers. He also attended a programme organised by the Nirapad Sarak Chai movement and visited the organisation’s office in Kakrail.

Friends and colleagues also visited him at his residence, where the actor spent time talking with them. On the morning of August 11, a day before returning to London, Kanchan visited his ancestral home in Ashutiapara, Karimganj upazila of Kishoreganj. There, he met local residents and visited the graves of his ancestors.

Kanchan has been receiving treatment in London since April last year, staying both in hospital and at the home of his daughter, Ima Islam. He underwent brain surgery at a London hospital in August last year. Doctors were able to remove a significant portion of the tumour, but could not remove it entirely because of the risks involved. It was later identified as brain cancer.

A prolonged course of treatment followed the surgery. In the first phase, Kanchan underwent chemotherapy alongside oral therapy for three consecutive months. According to family sources, he received more than 60 chemotherapy sessions over 12 weeks, with treatment administered five days a week.
After completing the first three-month phase of oral therapy, he underwent another three months of oral treatment in the second phase. Across three phases of treatment, the actor has received around 100 chemotherapy sessions.

For now, Rahman considers Kanchan’s physical condition stable and sees no cause for concern regarding his memory. His treatment will continue with a focus on keeping the tumour from growing further.