• Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled the death of senior oncologist and chairperson of the Adyar Cancer Institute Dr V Shanta on January 19. She was 93.

    • She was the chairperson of The Cancer Institute at Adyar in Chennai, and doyen of oncology, who focused her expertise over half a century in trying to make cancer care affordable in the country.

    • Born in 1927 in a family of achievers — both her maternal uncle S Chandrasekhar and maternal grandfather C V Raman are Nobel laureates — Shanta graduated in medicine in 1949 from Madras Medical College, later specialising in Gynaecology and Obstetrics.

    • She joined Adyar Cancer Institute in 1955, a year after it was founded by Dr Muthulakshmi Reddy, one of the first women graduates of medicine in India and a legislator.

    • The centre then grew from being a four-bed unit to one with over 400 beds and patients from all over the country.

    • She was a phenomenal teacher, apart from being extraordinarily good at starting specialties such as medical and paediatric oncology.

    • After her death, tributes have poured in from far and wide, politicians, academicians, co-workers and patients who have interacted with her first-hand.

    • For her work, Dr Shantha was recognised with the Padma Vibhushan (2016), Padma Bhushan (2006), Padma Shri (1986), and the Magsaysay Award (2005).

(The author is a trainer for Civil Services aspirants. The views expressed here are personal.)