40 | July 2020
HEALTH
Dr. Prag, the Super Hero
of Cancer Surgery
By Kim Hasty | Photography by Donnie Byers
A
father who wants to live to see his
son play in the big game.
A mother who wants to prepare
the family members who must now
take on the care of her child with special needs.
For them, Dr. Pragatheeshwar
irunavukarasu – Dr. Prag – with his kind
face, listening ear and surgical skills, is their
champion.
But to him, they are the ones who are the
heroes.
"eir stories, the amount of work they do, is
90 percent of it," he said. "ese cancers happen
to the nicest of people.
"Cancer's not a death sentence," he said. "We
all have to leave this world. I like to help people
leave on their own terms."
Dr. Prag, 37, is a surgeon certified in both
general surgery and complex general surgical
oncology by the American Board of Surgery. He
specializes in those for whom cancer has spread
and, oen, for whom there are no other options.
One of Prag's specialties is
hyperthermic intraperitoneal
chemotherapy or HIPEC, a
treatment for patients with
cancer in the abdomen.
