“Dr Shanta had complained of pain in the chest on Monday night and was rushed to Apollo Hospitals. Doctors noticed a block in her blood vessel that could not be removed. She died at 3.55 am on Tuesday,” a colleague at the Adyar Cancer Institute said. Showering encomiums in a three-page obituary communique, Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami announced a State funeral to honour Dr Shanta, who hailed from a family of Nobel laureates, Sir CV Raman and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar. She was cremated with State honours at Besant Nagar crematorium.

Among the first in the country to advocate that cancer was curable if detected early, Dr Shanta was a recipient of all top government awards including the Padma awards besides the Magsaysay Award. The veteran oncologist joined the Cancer Institute 66 years ago as a resident medical officer after completing her MBBS at the Madras Medical College. She lived within the hospital premises and was active even during her last days, despite minor ailments. She is credited with setting up the first cancer registry in the country, screening programme for cancer patients in India and first multi-disciplinary tumour board care among several other initiatives in oncology. She also served as a member of WHO’s Advisory Committee.

The first super-specialty course in oncology in India and a separate Paediatric Oncology Unit was first proposed and implemented under her guidance. The Institute has the oldest and largest cancer registry in the country.

Condoling her death, Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted, “Dr V Shanta will be remembered for her outstanding efforts to ensure top quality cancer care. The Cancer Institute at Adyar, is at the forefront of serving the poor and downtrodden. I recall my visit to the Institute in 2018. Saddened by her demise.” Other political leaders from Tamil Nadu also condoled her death.

R Dhanasekar, secretary to Dr V Shanta, said no medical professional could be as selfless as her. “She taught us to respect patients and understand their needs. With students, she always emphasised on early cancer detection since it is curable and told them to make people aware of the same. Even during the pandemic, she visited patients, saying it is during distressing times that patients need us all the more,” he recalled. “For over two decades, I have worked under her and she led a very simple life, asking us not to waste anything, even a piece of paper for that matter. She will remain an inspiration to all the doctors,” said Dr Surendran, Psychologist in Oncology, Adyar Cancer Institute.