Dr V Shanta, a pioneer in cancer care in India who headed the Cancer Institute (Women’s India Association), in Adyar, Chennai, passed away early morning on 19 January 2021 at the age of 93. She joined the institute as only one of two doctors in 1954, alongside Dr. S. Krishnamurthi, the son of Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy—the first woman medical graduate in India, first Indian woman legislator and the institute’s founder.
“I jumped at the opportunity and joined the Institute. It was truly a turning point in my career, and it was made possible by the indomitable courage of Dr. Reddy. She not only struggled to establish the Cancer Institute, but she was a tireless social worker who fought for the emancipation and empowerment of women. She was a legend in her lifetime,” said Dr. Shanta,” in a conversation with ASCO Post, an online publication, in January 2019.
After working for a year on a voluntary basis, she joined the Cancer Institute (WIA) as a Resident Medical Officer on 13…