Por
que Deus nos deu esse desviver? Diabo!
Dalcídio
Jurandir, em: Chove nos campos de
cachoeira, 1941.
Eutanázio is a character from "Chove nos campos de cachoeira" (It Rains in the Fields of Cachoeira) by Dalcídio Jurandir, a Brazilian writer born on Marajó Island and awarded the Machado de Assis Prize. Contradicting the meaning of his name, death without suffering, Eutanázio dies slowly. The paradoxical nature of the name refers to euthanasia, the act of causing someone's death to relieve suffering caused by an incurable or serious disease.
Considering that cancer is one of those diseases with high mortality, even in advanced centers, what can be said about a region where prevention is a challenge and access to treatment is difficult? Here along the riverbanks of the Amazon region, from where I write, having cancer seems more like digging one's own grave. From these thoughts springs another word: misthanasia, also known as social euthanasia or "miserable death," intimately linked to the lack of medical assistance. In this, society is complicit - including myself.
Based on this idea, with the objective of seeking ways to mitigate cancer's damage in the Amazon, a group linked to the Oncology Research Center (NPO) of the Federal University of Pará embarked on a boat, leaving Belém. They crossed the Guamá River and landed on Combu Island. Between May 23-25, 2025, at the Oncology 2025 Symposium, they debated cancer among Amazonians - those who live in the open forest under the protection of healers and Jurupari. National and international guests connected to oncology, including epidemiologists, doctors, and other professionals, embarked on the crossing and composed the discussion on day 1.
With COP30 knocking at Belém's door, and the world with eyes wide open on the Amazon, this cerebral group raised their unanimous voice to evaluate the most diverse obstacles among the most frequent types of cancer, with the main objective of prevention and evaluation of access to oncology reference centers. In other words, it's not enough to care for the forest; one must care for those who inhabit it and from it extract the porridge to savor with tamuatá fish.
Immersed in the forest, the guests felt the breath of the climate and the serpentine flow of the rivers to then understand how distant the homo amazonicus is from prevention and access to medical treatment.
Oncology 2025 extended to the Benedito Nunes Convention Center, still on the banks of the Guamá River, for two more days. It was an event subsidized by the Federal University of Pará under the baton of NPO, spanning from genetics to epidemiology and the sociology of cancer. With the motto better understanding it to better face it, they obtained support from the pharmaceutical industry and medical associations involved in the theme. The notable presence was of students from various areas and researchers in oncogenetics, plus clinicians and surgeons, and some foreigners, like Paul Mansfield from MD Anderson Cancer Center. An event to cleanse the organizers' souls in their quest to alleviate others' suffering.
It was an event for academia to open its gates and bring ideas to society and public authorities for a better Amazon, making the coexistence between environment and humans more balanced. From there will emerge a kind of dossier, according to the organization, that will be taken to public authorities to mitigate misthanasia.
In Dalcídio's novel, Eutanázio acquired an STD (Sexually Transmitted Disease). He sought a healer in vain hope of a cure that never came. Without access to prevention and basic clinical treatment, he was left adrift and ended up dying in the plot - the book addresses the decadence of the forest dweller. It is known that some STDs are pre-cancerous.
Eutanázio is the voice of "unliving." In the work, it becomes clear that "unliving" means being far from basic things like prevention and treatment of so-called benign diseases.
Roger Normando - Clinical Surgery II (Thoracic Surgery),
Barros Barreto University Hospital – Federal University of Pará.
