CIF News & Media

Please join us in singing happy birthday to Dr. Shanta of Adyar Cancer Institute who turned 90 on March 11, 2017. Dr. Shanta who joined the institute in 1955 has dedicated her life to the institute and to serving the cancer patients. In these 62 years the institute has grown from its modest beginnings to a premier institution. She has received many accolades for her tireless service.

On this occasion popular Tamil weekly magazine Ananda Vikatan interviewed her. She starts the interview saying “I am only 90 and there is so much to do!”. We also pray to the Almighty to give her strength to continue her service for many years to come.You can read the whole interview here. In case the link does not work for you here is a PDF version of the interview.

With apologies to those who do not speak Tamil, here is a collection of interviews of Dr. V. Shanta by Tamil TV channel “News 7 Tamil“. These interviews are in Tamil. We are proud to share these videos with you. We thank News 7 Tamil for these useful and informative videos.

Dr. Shanta discusses in depth the history of how Chennai Adyar Cancer Institute came to be, challenges then and now, what is cancer, how it is preventable, various treatment options, progression of cancer treatment advances, root causes of cancer and whether it is curable or not etc. She also highlights how Cancer Institute has pioneered in cancer prevention efforts, research and higher education via its own College of Oncology Sciences.

Construction of a new state of the art Operation Theater is in progress in Cancer Institute, Adyar, Chennai. Once completed it will help in a big way and reduce the wait time of the patients. Construction is expected to be completed in March/April 2017 and become operational in June/July 2017.

A new Walk-in Chemo Therapy Center is also in the works. It will help serve large number of patients who can get chemo therapy and go home in about 2 hours. Chemo therapy center is expected to be ready in February/March 2017.These two projects are a huge milestone in the history of CIF. We thank all the volunteers, donors, sponsors, partner organizations and well wishers for your continued support of CIF. We are proud to sharethese pictures with you.

Kamala Ganesh a sociologist based in Mumbai has written an article about Dr. Shanta and Cancer Institute in The Wire based on her article ‘Healing Touch : Dr. V. Shanta’s Journeys in Cancer Treatment and Care‘ in Feminists and Science: Critiques and Changing Perspectives in India vol. 2 due to be published by STREE, Kolkata. According to the author in the essay she tries to see how the three elements – of excellence, outreach and an ethic of care – came together in the making of Shanta, the doctor. She also examines the dynamics in the making of the Institute’s own signature approach.

You can read the complete article here. For your convenience PDF format of this article is also available for download here.

Cancer Institute and the Center for Global Health, National Cancer Institute (NCI), USA, will collaborate on research, following a memorandum of understating signed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and U.S. President Barack Obama last June.

According to NCI’s Director Edward Trimble that NCI is looking at learning from the institute’s experiences in implementing training for healthcare workers in early detection and screening.

The institute is currently developing an Elisa test which would provide more specificity in identifying pre-cancerous lesions. With the results being provided within a few hours, the patient would also undergo further treatment if necessary immediately.

Dr. Shanta expressed “Many of the personalised care (procedures) reach only five per cent of the population. But in a country with limited resources we need procedures that can reach a large population.”

Let us hope that the collaboration between Cancer Institute and NCI results in new innovations in prevention of cancer.

Read the full story in The Hindu.

Congratulations to Dr. Shanta for being chosen for Padma Vibhushan, country’s second highest civilian award for the year 2016. Reacting to the government’s decision to confer the award on her, Dr Shanta told Times of India: “I am thankful to those who have chosen me for this award. However, I am not too excited. What I and the institute need is more support from the government.” This shows how humble and selfless she is and how she always thinks about only the hospital and her patients.

Please watch her interview in Puthiya Thalaimurai and Thanthi TV channels.

Dr. Shanta has also received Padma Shri and Padma Bhushan awards in the past.