This is the first article in a three-part series on women doctors from the roster of Magsaysay Awardees. Each of these women has done outstanding pioneering work in her field of specialty.

For Dr. V. Shanta, care is part of the cure
By Joanna T. la Ó

Humanity and compassion are the primary components of any medical practice, says Dr. V. Shanta (Public Service, 2005). This tenet is what guides her and the dedicated members of the Cancer Institute (WIA) in Chennai, India. They believe that cancer patients deserve compassionate treatment.

While applying their knowledge and training, the staff are constantly reminded to treat patients as they would their own parents, children, and loved ones. Patients and their relatives are part of the Institute's family.

The family atmosphere is manifested in "Sanctuary," a program through which cancer survivors comfort and encourage new patients by sharing their experiences. Social workers also provide counseling and support.

In the early days when treatment was not specialized, all cancer patients were grouped together. Dr. Shanta's heart went out to the child patients who were exposed to the tumors, foul smells, and other depressing manifestations of the disease. Thus she set up the hospital's pediatric wing, a first in India.

Also for the sake of pediatric patients, Dr. Shanta campaigned to lower the cost of anti-cancer drugs. She invited India's Finance Minister to the hospital and lined up the children along the pediatric ward. "These are my little children with cancer and if you want us to cure them, give us the exemption," Dr. Shanta told the guest. That very evening, anti-cancer drugs were declared "life-saving" and import duties on them were cut.

Compassion for patients extends beyond treatment at the hospital. Aware that patients missed essential follow-up sessions because of the cost of travel, Dr. Shanta and Dr. Krishnamurthi petitioned for a railway concession and won for patients a 50-percent discount.

At the Institute, humane treatment tempers professional wisdom. Doctors thoroughly evaluate each case and tell patients what can and cannot be done, and what can bring about the best possible result. In their evaluation, Dr. Shanta emphasizes that scientific research is key. She has pioneered much cancer research, inspiring the Institute's slogan, "Today's Research is Tomorrow's Treatment."

Through research, the Institute discovered that the type of leukemia in Indian children was different from that afflicting Caucasians. Subsequent treatments raised the survival rates in the Institute's pediatric leukemia patients, from 10 percent to 55 percent today. Other pediatric cancers, such as lymphomas and testicular tumors, now have a survival rate of up to 80 percent.

As early as the 1960's, the Institute pioneered a multidisciplinary approach in the management of cancer. A combination of treatments, say, radiation-surgery-chemotherapy, is more effective. For example, the cure rate in oral cancer patients has risen from 19 percent to 60 percent. Combination therapy is now practiced globally.

Today the Institute cures one out of three patients. Those who cannot be cured are often the ones who came to the hospital too late. Cancer is curable if detected and treated early. When Dr. Shanta conducted India's first major cancer survey in the 1960's, she realized that people in the rural areas were often unaware that they had the disease. Therefore her persistent campaign for early detection stresses education. Now, thanks mostly to greater public awareness, cervical cancer is no longer the top killer among women cancer patients in India.

As science moves forward, so do Dr. Shanta's plans. The Indian government is helping the Institute implement telemedicine, using video and IT to diagnose patients in villages far away from Chennai. The Institute has also established the Hereditary Cancer Clinic, headed by Scientific Director Dr. Rajkumar, one of the younger doctors continuing Dr. Shanta's work. The clinic studies the genetic factors in cancer, in the hope of further raising survival rates.

The Institute has come a long way since 1954 when it was established under the leadership of Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, India's first woman medical graduate. In the beginning, her son, Dr. S. Krishnamurthi, and Dr. Shanta were the only doctors. From a cluster of huts with 12 beds for surgical cases, the Institute now spans nine acres and the hospital houses 428 beds.

In 2004 the Institute celebrated 50 years of "Humanity with Wisdom," an ethos that permeates their unique approach to cancer care.

Through humanity with wisdom, Dr. Shanta, along with the doctors at the Institute, will continue to give hope to their patients-until, she says, "my last breath."