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Without science, I would be dead, says Amartya Sen
Akhil Kadidal
DHNS
Last Updated IST
Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate, Professor of Economics and Philosophy, Harvard University, USA during the award ceremony of Infosys Prize 2019 in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | DH Photo: Pushkar V
Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate, Professor of Economics and Philosophy, Harvard University, USA during the award ceremony of Infosys Prize 2019 in Bengaluru on Tuesday. | DH Photo: Pushkar V

During his lecture, Nobel laureate Amartya Sen said he felt a sudden sense of comfort after seeing a short animated film showing Marie Curie and her discovery of radiation.

The reason, he explained, was personal. “At the age of 18, I was diagnosed with oral cancer and given a 15% chance of living five years. Fortunately, I was able to beat cancer due to radiation therapy. If Marie Curie had not made her discovery, I would not be here today,” he said.

Sen, however, specified that he is going through a second bout of cancer. “This is a very different kind — prostate — and again the treatment is radiation, but the advances of science have made the treatment so precise in the decades since my (first) treatment,” he said. “If I can make a confession, I am hoping to win this one too,” he added.

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(Published 08 January 2020, 00:14 IST)