The 94-year-old Dr. V Shanta, senior oncologist and chairwoman of the Adyar Cancer Institute, Chennai, passed away today. Dr Shanta, who complained of discomfort, was taken to Apollo Hospital early this morning. In an attempt to remove a clot in her blood vessel, her heart failed to comply to the surgeory.
Her body was then placed at the old Building in Gandhi Nagar where she joined as the resident medical officer 65 years ago. “We placed her body in the same hall where we had placed the body of our former chief Dr S Krishnamurthi. Born on March 11, 1927, in a distinguished family of Nobel prize winners namely sir CV Raman and S Chandrasekhar. She stayed in a small room at the institute, made quality and affordable cancer treatment accessible to all patients around the country.
A veteran like her has received several awards including the Ramon Magsaysay Award and the Padma Vibhushan. “It is an end of an era,” said senior surgical oncologist Dr Arvind Krishnamurthy.
