End of an era as a giant tree falls

Winner of the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Public Service as well as the Padma Shree, the Padma Bhushan, and the Padma Vibhushan (only the Bharat Ratna is missing), Dr V. Shantha of the Cancer Institute, Chennai passed away early this morning. It is a sad moment for many. Dr Shanta provided so much inspiration and hope. She embodied selfless service – the kind you hardly see today. 

I first met Dr Shanta many years ago at the Cancer Institute (the old building), to interview her for a column I was writing for The Indian Express. I would meet her quite a few times later over the years, including one in her modest home at the Cancer Institute itself. At that meeting, we spoke for more than an hour, and that was when she said she was keen to talk to journalists about various issues related to cancer. That helped the Press Institute of India (PII) organise three or four programmes with the Cancer Institute. She visited PII twice, and patiently answered all the questions the journalists had. 

The other privilege I had was when I was called by All India Radio to interview Dr Shanta. Spread over a few months, we had three interviews, focused on cancer as well as medical ethics. And every time, she would arrive ahead of time. The AIR staff would make way for the diminutive figure; some would touch her feet. It showed that greatness is not defined by lineage, position, designation, wealth or power; it is defined by simplicity and humility, and by sincerity, dedication and commitment. Respect and goodwill are earned. So too, trust and faith. They are never available for a price. 

Born in a distinguished family of scientists, Shantha dreamt of becoming a doctor ever since she was a small girl; her uncle and granduncle were Nobel Laureates. She acquired MBBS, DG and MD (Obstetrics and Gynaecology) degrees between 1949 and 1955. In April 1955, she joined the Cancer Institute, set up in 1954 by the Women’s India Association Cancer Relief Fund as its resident medical officer, in preference to the assistant surgeon’s post in the Women’s and Children’s Hospital, Madras. With Dr Krishnamurthy she played a crucial role in developing the institute from a cottage hospital of 12 beds to what is today a comprehensive institution of international stature. 

At PII during her first visit, one of the first things Dr Santha said was that there was really no need to be afraid of cancer – it was just like any other disease. Sixty-five per cent of cancers were curable, she said, especially if detected early. Advanced stages of cancer had no cure and the best was palliative care. However, overall, there is no doubt that developments in science have blunted the power of a disease whose name most people even today take with bated breath, she added.

Dr Shantha did not believe in miracles; her faith in medical science was always very strong. All the improvements in cancer cure were a result of it, she said, and pointed out how the disease could now be diagnosed even at the molecular stage (without any sort of growth/ tumour or physical appearance as such). 

Dr Shantha was always critical of the tobacco lobby and recalled how once she refused to have a chain smoker as a member of a cancer-prevention body. “Keep tobacco sponsors away from sports,” was her clarion call. She was also not for having any person who smoked as a teacher in a school. “If he smokes how can he be an example to children?” she asked. 

“Tobacco is the king of all killers,” Dr Shantha would regularly emphasise. “Those who regularly consume tobacco-related products face increased morbidity of other diseases too; 90 per cent of TB patients who succumb to the disease are seen to be smokers.” This was when she was addressing journalists at a seminar on Tobacco Control organised by PII, UNICEF, and the Resource Centre for Tobacco Control, Cancer Institute, on World No Tobacco Day, May 31. 

Dr Shanta would also say that there was not adequate awareness in India about the ill effects of tobacco, and the government was not really showing any interest in creating awareness. She pointed out that lung cancer now topped the chart among the various cancers, unlike a few years ago – an indication of the damage smoking was causing. She stressed that prevention (not smoking) was always better than cure. 

“If you understand life, you understand cancer,” Dr Shanta once told me. “The disease in many ways is complex and beyond the control of the human being, just as everyday life is,” she said.







 

I will miss Dr Shanta very much. In many ways, she was a mother figure to me, quite fond of me. May her soul rest in peace. Om Shanti!


Pictures show her at the Press Institute of India, the last at the AIR studios, Chennai, during an interview. 


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