On the list of many inspiring who women illuminated R. Ravi Kannan's life path, stands the wife of a patient from Tripura. Her husband needed medicines worth ₹5,000, and she requested the doctors to go ahead with the treatment while she arranged the money. When she returned to the Cachar Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (CCHRC) in Silchar with the cash, the doctors told her that he would have to stay on for a few more days for additional treatment. She started crying, begging for his discharge. Kannan, the director of the centre in Assam, tried to understand the reason behind her resistance and discovered that she had pledged her son to a landlord in the village to raise money.
The memory gives Kannan goosebumps. It became a turning point in how the centre approached patients. "We had quoted a cost that she could not afford. Since then we have become extra sensitive and ask patients where the money will come from. We tell them not to pledge their fixed assets. I am sure we continue to make mistakes that cause distress to our patients," says Kannan.
The renowned surgical oncologist is a recipient of the 65th Ramon Magsaysay Awards. The citation describes him as a 'Hero for Holistic Healthcare, Providing hope and healing in cancer care'.
This is just one more award in a long list of recognitions including the Padma Shri, but the doctor says he received them just as the 'face' of a large team that works with him to provide cancer care. "I will be an idiot to think that all this was achieved just by me," he says.
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