The Tata Memorial Centre is not just India's best cancer hospital. It is a global centre of excellence where 70 per cent of patients get free primary care

About 10 to 12 million people the world over suffer from cancer. Almost 52 per cent of them are from developing countries. In India 800,000 are diagnosed with this dreaded disease every day. At any given time there are 2.5 million old and new patients.

If you think this is bad news, there's worse to come. By 2020 the number of patients globally will shoot up to 20 million, and 72 per cent of them will be from the third world.

Is India geared for this future? Not at all, says Dr Ketayun Dinshaw, director, Tata Memorial Centre (TMC), adding, "we need a Tata Memorial Hospital in every state." She says it was extraordinary vision which made the Tatas set up a speciality cancer centre at a time when there were only a handful of them in the world. Today TMC treats one-third of the cancer patients in the country.

After Lady Meherbai Tata died of leukaemia in 1932, her husband, Sir Dorabji Tata, wanted to bring to India a facility similar to the ones where his wife was treated abroad. After Dorabji's death, Nowroji Saklatwala, the next chairman of the Tata Group, pursued this dream. But it was the support of JRD Tata that finally saw the Tata Memorial Hospital, a seven-storey structure, opening in Parel, Bombay, on February 28, 1941.

In 1957, the Ministry of Health temporarily took over the Tata Memorial Hospital. But JRD Tata and Dr Homi Bhabha — the pioneer of India's nuclear energy programme — had the vision to foresee the role that radiation would play in cancer treatment, from imaging to staging and actual therapy. Administrative control of the hospital was then transferred to the Department of Atomic Energy in 1962. After four years the Cancer Research Institute — set up in 1952 — and TMC were merged.

Starting as an 80-bed hospital covering an area of 15,000 sq metres, TMC now has more than 440 beds spread over almost 54,000 square metres. The annual budget, Rs 500,000 in 1941, is now close to Rs 280 million.

TMC is a comprehensive centre for the prevention and treatment of cancer, and for research. It is a landmark on the global health map and particularly important to this part of the world. Nearly 25,000 patients visit the clinics each year, not only from all over India but from neighbouring countries as well. Nearly 70 per cent of patients seeking primary care are treated free of charge. Over the years TMC has also realised the importance of preventive activities and is reaching out to create awareness even in rural areas.

The Centre lays a lot of emphasis on education in the field of cancer. Over 150 students, medical professionals, scientists and technicians undergo training at the hospital. The Department of Atomic Energy has established a new state-of-the-art research and development centre at Khargar in Navi Mumbai (called the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer) to focus on research into cancers relevant to India and South Asia.

"TMC as well as the Department of Atomic Energy — through its links with the Tata Institute of Fundamental Research and Dr Bhabha — inherit their work culture from the Tatas," says Dr Dinshaw. She recalls how committed JRD was to the institution. "In fact, it was because of his involvement and concern that the hospital was handed over from the Ministry of Health to the Department of Atomic Energy."

Dr Dinshaw remembers JRD's visits fondly: "He had such a towering personality; we were all in awe of him. He was alert and committed. I especially remember his visit for the celebration of the golden jubilee in 1991," she says.

The association between the Tatas and TMC has continued over the years. Not only have individuals like Rustom Choksi and RM Lala shown keen interest in the institution, but its culture has constantly drawn from the Tata values. "We have inherited the honesty and integrity of the founders. TMC is a classic example of how well private philanthropy and public support can work together."