Renowned Oncologist, Padma Shri Dr Ravi Kannan wins Ramon Magsaysay Award 2023

Silchar: A renowned oncologist, Padma Shri Awardee and Director of Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) Dr Ravi Kannan, who puts the well-being of his patients first and has treated over 70000 cancer patients in Barak Valley free of cost is one of the Ramon Magsaysay Awardees for 2023. 

Dr Ravi Kannan is no doubt the perfect candidate to be conferred with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award, 2023 for his unconditional and revolutionary cancer treatment to the people of Assam through people-centred and pro-poor programs. 

Popularly known for his selfless attitude towards his patients, Dr Kannan has treated numerous cancer patients by providing them free accommodation, food, employment and spreading awareness. Apart from this, he also launched innovative measures for healthcare at the doorstep including home visits and satellite clinics. 

He has been named as one of the four winners of the ‘Hero For Holistic Healthcare’ award on the 65th anniversary of the Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation on Thursday which is dubbed as the Asian Nobel Prize. 

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Since 1958, the Ramon Magsaysay Award has been bestowed upon over three hundred outstanding individuals and organizations whose selfless service has offered their societies and the world successful solutions to some of the most challenging problems of human development.

Son of an Indian Air Force personnel, Kannan hails from Chennai was first heading the surgical oncology department of Adyar Cancer Institute. In 2006, he visited the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre for the first time for a consultation at the request of a colleague and that's when he met the then-director of CCHRC who offered him to head the centre. Kannan left his practice in Chennai and moved to Assam with his family in 2007 to provide basic healthcare facilities to the people of Barak Valley through Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre in Silchar.

CCHRC then expanded into an innovative, widely admired, full-service cancer care facility after Indian surgical oncologist Dr Ravi Kannan R became hospital director in 2007, the first formally-trained oncologist to fill the position.

Under Kannan’s leadership, CCHRC became a full-fledged comprehensive cancer hospital and research centre. From a hospital with limited facilities when he came on board, it now has twenty-eight departments covering oncology, pathology, radiology, microbiology, epidemiology, tumour registry and palliative care, and other services and specializations. From a staff of only twenty-three, the hospital now employs 451 people. 

Currently serving as the Director of Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC), Dr Kannan is also the recipient of Padma Shri, India's fourth highest civilian honour.

"The Ramon Magsaysay Award Foundation board of trustees recognizes his devotion to his profession’s highest ideals of public service, his combination of skill, commitment, and compassion in pushing the boundaries of people-centred, pro-poor health care and cancer care, and for having built, without expectation of reward, a beacon of hope for millions in the Indian state of Assam, thus setting a shining example for all," noted The Ramon Magsaysay website.

After receiving the prestigious award on Thursday, Dr Kannan said the prestigious award is not about him, but for all those who have contributed to cancer care in the community. He said the award belongs to all the people who have joined hands to make the lives of those suffering from cancer better.

”The award is not about myself but about many people including 450 colleagues of the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, whose contribution is immense, and the not-for-profit society that set it up,” Kannan told PTI.

“The award belongs to many people, the hospital and the community who have joined hands to make lives better for those suffering from cancer and I am just one of the many faces involved in this effort,” the director of the hospital said.

Assam Chief Minister’s Office in a post on ‘X’ said, “Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma extends his warm congratulations to Dr Ravi Kannan R on being bestowed with the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award 2023. Dr Kannan has played an impactful role in transforming cancer care in Assam, especially in rural areas. He is also a Padmashree recipient.” Kannan said they are now focusing on ”decentralising cancer care by setting up smaller hospitals in different parts of the state and even in Tripura so that people do not have to travel far to reach a hospital for treatment”.

He said satellite clinics have been started in Karimganj, Hailakandi and Dima Hasao districts, he said.

”We have to go near people and focus on prevention, treatment and cancer care. We need a lot of support for infrastructure and equipment, which are one-time investments, but what we need most is human resources which is a recurring requirement”, the oncologist said.

Both state and central governments have always supported us and with government health schemes like Atal Amrit Abhyan and others, poor people are getting better treatment, he said.

“We are a society-run centre but whenever we ask for any support, the government never says no,” he said.

Kannan said he wants to tell every patient that cancer is curable like any other disease. “I don’t want to see a single person dying without dignity because he or she has cancer,” he said.

Assam and other parts of the Northeast are more prone to cancer due to the lifestyle of people as they consume a lot of tobacco, betel nuts and alcohol and they do not exercise much and follow proper diet, he said.

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