The Beginning

In 1954, Dr. Muthulakshmi Reddy, India’s first woman medical graduate and social reformer, felt the acute need for a hospital solely dedicated to cancer.

Dr. Reddy, a woman of fortitude and vision founded the autonomous charitable comprehensive Cancer Centre under the auspices of Women’s India Association (WIA) in 1955.

Thanks to the unwavering efforts of Dr. Krishnamurthy, the advisor and Dr. V. Shanta, Director the Institute has grown from two room Centre to a magnificent hospital providing state of the art cancer care for over 100,000 patients annually.

Today, Cancer Institute is the only free standing non-profit institution that provides excellent cancer care regardless of socio, economic conditions.

The Institute Today

The Institute is unique in its efforts by being the first in India to:

• screen rural population for early signs of cancer
• provide state of the art care for all patients, 60% of whom are treated for free
• train rural public health workers in personal communication
• promote tobacco cessation programs

The Institute’s Internationally recognized research laboratories focus on the cause, prevention and treatment of cancers common in India.

The Institute’s College of Oncology Sciences is recognized by a number of leading Indian Universities to train physicians towards:

• M.Ch. (Surgical Oncology)
• D.M. (Medical Oncology)
• M.D. (Radiation Oncology)
• M.Sc. (Medical Physics)
• Ph.D. in several oncology sciences

For more information please visit the website of The Cancer Institute (WIA), Chennai, India.