On 15th August 2012, the first patient of Sri Shankara Cancer Hospital and Research Centre underwent radiotherapy; our hospital has registered and treated more than 70,000 cancer patients in the 10 years since then. Commemorating this feat, 3 days of grand celebrations were held from 13th to 15th August 2022!
The celebrations began on the 13th of August with a symposium on Affordable Cancer Care in India, for which, Justice Sri M N Venkatachaliah, Hon’ble Former Chief Justice of India, graciously agreed to be the Chief Guest. The Hon'ble Chief Justice released our coffee table book "Temple of Healing" which commemorates our journey over the past 10 years and is dedicated to all our donors, patients and well-wishers.
Entrepreneurs, authors and philanthropists, Smt Susmita Bagchi and Sri Subroto Bagchi had graced the event and Sri Subroto Bagchi delivered the Keynote Lecture on "Integrity in Life".
In a true mark of unity in diversity, senior faculty and administrators from various charitable cancer hospitals across India were part of a panel discussion on “Achieving High-Quality Cancer Treatment at Affordable Costs – Challenges to Charitable Cancer Institutions”.
The panellists were: Mr. Sunder Vaswani from Sadhu Vaswani Mission's Medical Complex, Pune, Dr Shishir Gosavi and Smt Amita Shishir Gosavi from Shri Siddhivinayak Ganapati Cancer Hospital, Miraj, Dr T Subramanyeshwar Rao from Basavatarakam Indo American Cancer Hospital & Research Institute, Hyderabad, Maj Gen Dr S C Pareek of Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Jaipur, Dr S K Sharma from Dr Sheela Sharma Memorial Charitable Trust, Mathur, Dr B R Patil from Padmashree Dr R.B Patil Cancer Hospital in Hubballi, Mr A. Manimuthu from Mahatma Gandhi Cancer Hospital and Research Institute, Visakhapatnam, Mr Aditya Murti and Dr Piyush Kumar from RR Cancer Institute & Research Centre, Bareilly
Moderated by Sri Shankara Prakash, the panel brought to light the various challenges faced by not-for-profit cancer hospitals across India and the unique ways in which each organization has tackled these challenges. Over the course of 2 hours, the esteemed panellists discussed costing optimization, funding opportunities and quality enhancement. It was heartening that the spirit of service to the people of this great nation with high-quality and affordable cancer care was the common theme that brought together all these organizations.
On 14th August 2022, Sunday, we had the pleasure of honouring our donors whose faith in us, generosity towards our cause and unstinted support is the reason behind our achievements. Over 1000 donors visited the hospital premises to witness the milestone and the impact that they have enabled. Audio visual displays, a tour of the hospital and a token of our gratitude were shared with them. The hospital premises was brimming with plenty of happiness, satisfaction and excitement!
Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav, India's 75th Independencec Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm and gusto as the day also marked the official 10th year anniversary of our hospital. The day started off with the Flag Hoisting by Padma Shri Dr V R Gowrishankar. This was followed by a first-of-its-kind event where our doctors organized a cultural performance as a dedication to more than 300 of their patients who have successfully fought cancer! The cancer survivors celebrated this milestone with their doctors and hospital team. The doctors of the operation theatre team performed their take on the iconic movie "Sholay" in a short skit called "Chole!", Sitar performance in the fitting raag "Des" by Dr Prithvi S Balepur, mesmerising songs sung by Dr Praveen K S and his wife Smt Vani and joyful flute performance by Dr Manasa was a special treat to our senses. The grand finale, a medley of songs in raag "Bhairavi" performed by 10 of our doctors to mark 10 years of the hospital's service brought an exhilarating end to the grand festivities of this milestone.
The celebratory atmosphere was palpable and reverberating across the hospital over the last 15 days!
We pray to Goddess Sharadambe for her eternal blessings upon our patients, faculty, staff and entire Sri Shankara Cancer Foundation family!
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