Ketayun Ardeshir Dinshaw

FRCR The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) is the professional body responsible for the specialties of clinical oncology and clinical radiology throughout the United Kingdom. Its role is to advance the science and practice of radiology and oncol ...

(16 November 1943 – 26 August 2011) was a prominent personality in the field of Indian medicine and played a significant role in the evolution of modern

cancer care Oncology is a branch of medicine that deals with the study, treatment, diagnosis and prevention of cancer. A medical professional who practices oncology is an ''oncologist''. The name's etymological origin is the Greek word ὄγκος (''ó ...

in India, and the development of effective

radiation therapy Radiation therapy or radiotherapy, often abbreviated RT, RTx, or XRT, is a therapy using ionizing radiation, generally provided as part of cancer treatment to control or kill malignant cells and normally delivered by a linear accelerator. Radia ...

. In 2001, the

President of India The president of India ( IAST: ) is the head of state of the Republic of India. The president is the nominal head of the executive, the first citizen of the country, as well as the commander-in-chief of the Indian Armed Forces. Droupadi Murmu ...

conferred on her the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

. A prominent news channel has described her as: “The ultimate hope and the last possible post to cling onto for the cancer-struck in India”. Over a thirty-year period, Dinshaw revolutionised cancer medicine in India, refining multi-modal treatments as the exception rather than the rule.

Life and career

Born to a

Parsi Parsis () or Parsees are an ethnoreligious group of the Indian subcontinent adhering to Zoroastrianism. They are descended from Persians who migrated to Medieval India during and after the Arab conquest of Iran (part of the early Muslim conq ...

family in Calcutta. Dinshaw started her medical career by graduating from the

Christian Medical College Christian Medical College, Vellore, widely known as CMC, Vellore, is a private, Christian community-run medical school, hospital and research institute. This Institute includes a network of primary, secondary and tertiary care hospitals in a ...

Vellore Vellore (English: ), also spelt as Velur (), is a city and the administrative headquarters of Vellore district in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located on the banks of the Palar River in the northeastern part of Tamil Nadu and is separa ...

in 1966. She continued her training at

Addenbrooke's Hospital Addenbrooke's Hospital is an internationally renowned large teaching hospital and research centre in Cambridge, England, with strong affiliations to the University of Cambridge. Addenbrooke's Hospital is based on the Cambridge Biomedical Campu ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a university city and the county town in Cambridgeshire, England. It is located on the River Cam approximately north of London. As of the 2021 United Kingdom census, the population of Cambridge was 145,700. Cambridge bec ...

, UK, from 1970 to 1973. During this period she completed her diploma in radiation therapy (DMRT), and was then enrolled as a Fellow of the

Royal College of Radiologists The Royal College of Radiologists (RCR) is the professional body responsible for the specialties of clinical oncology and clinical radiology throughout the United Kingdom. Its role is to advance the science and practice of radiology and oncol ...

(FRCR) in London. Following this she returned to India and became a staff member at the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai, in 1974, and seven years later was named head of the department of radiation oncology. In 1995, she was appointed director of the Tata Memorial Hospital, and two years later was selected to oversee the

Tata Memorial Centre The Tata Memorial Hospital is situated in Parel, Mumbai, in India. Also popularly known as TMH. It is a specialist cancer treatment and research centre, closely associated with the Advanced Centre for Treatment, Research and Education in Cancer ...

(Tata Memorial Hospital and Cancer Research Institute) as well. She served as Director of this institute until 2008, and played a pivotal role in shaping the institute to its present-day status as one of India's leading cancer centres.Conversation with Dr. K. A. Dinshaw
''Journal of Cancer Research and Therapeutics''. She has received numerous awards and recognitions, and has served as a member on numerous prestigious committees and bodies, including the International Union Against Cancer,

International Atomic Energy Agency The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is an intergovernmental organization that seeks to promote the peaceful use of nuclear energy and to inhibit its use for any military purpose, including nuclear weapons. It was established in 1957 ...

, and the Government of India. She has hundreds of publications to her name, and is on the editorial board of numerous

scientific journal In academic publishing, a scientific journal is a periodical publication intended to further the progress of science, usually by reporting new research. Content Articles in scientific journals are mostly written by active scientists such as s ...

s. Throughout her tenure at Tata Memorial Centre, she has been a driving force in establishing the highest standards, organising and refurbishing all departments, providing modern instrumentation for diagnosis and treatment of cancer, and establishing modern management systems and computerisation in the hospital. One of her earliest initiatives was fostering an integrated team approach to cancer treatment, encouraging radiologists and surgeons to review new patients in the

Lymphoma Lymphoma is a group of blood and lymph tumors that develop from lymphocytes (a type of white blood cell). In current usage the name usually refers to just the cancerous versions rather than all such tumours. Signs and symptoms may include enlar ...

Joint Clinic. Together, the doctors established clinical protocols, and now channel cancer patients into appropriate treatment programs according to set guidelines—in the context of ongoing clinical trials. A vibrant scientific review committee and hospital ethics committee were commissioned by her to guide all research programs in the Tata Memorial Hospital. She developed the first

brachytherapy Brachytherapy is a form of radiation therapy where a sealed radiation source is placed inside or next to the area requiring treatment. ''Brachy'' is Greek for short. Brachytherapy is commonly used as an effective treatment for cervical, prosta ...

program in India at the Tata Memorial Hospital, and was the driving force towards developing modern radiation therapy techniques, such as 3DCRT, SRT, IMRT, and IGRT.Expert profiles – Dr Ketayun Dinshaw
, Doctor NDTV. Dinshaw has also been the force behind the establishment of the Advanced Centre for Treatment Research and Education in Cancer (ACTREC) in Navi Mumbai, the new Tata Clinic and Faculty block at TMH, the IGRT Facility block at TMH. She also played a key role in the development of an indigenous radiotherapy machine called Bhabhatron. The machine has since been installed in twenty other cancer centres in India, and donated to several developing countries.Doctor who shaped Tata hospital dies
''The Times of India''. She died on 26 August 2011 of cancer.She fought cancer, personally & professionally
"The Indian Express".

Honors and achievements

, awarded by the President of India for her contribution to the field of Science and Engineering (26 January 2001)Padma Shri award winners 2001
Government of India. * Past President, International Society for Radiation Oncology (Beijing, China 1997–2001) * Past President, Association of Radiation Oncologists of India (1995–1996) * Indo American Ulrich Henschke Memorial Award of Excellence, (Madras, December 1993) * Award for Excellence in Professional Competence by Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (June 1997) * Life Time Achievement Award for service to the causes of cancer by the Breast Cancer Foundation of India (March 2000) *

FIE Foundation FIE Foundation is a charity trust established in 1970, belongs to 'Fie Group of Industries' Ichalkaranji, in Maharashtra State of India. Background Mr. P. D. Kulkarni ( Panditkaka Daji Kulkarni), The Chairman of FIE Group, who was also the tr ...

National Award for Outstanding Contribution to Medicine (1999)

References

External links

Dr (Ms) K.A. Dinshaw
Government of India. * Dinshaw, Ketayun (Jan 2006)
From the Desk of the Director
Tata Memorial Centre.
JCRT publication
Ghosh-Laskar S. In fond memory of a Legend: Dr. Ketayun Ardeshir Dinshaw. J Can Res Ther 2011;7:393-4
PUBMED
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dinshaw, Ketayun Ardeshir Recipients of the Padma Shri in science & engineering Indian women medical doctors 20th-century Indian medical doctors Indian oncologists Fellows of the Royal College of Radiologists 2011 deaths 1943 births Indian radiologists Parsi people Medical doctors from Mumbai 20th-century Indian women scientists Women scientists from Maharashtra Medical doctors from Kolkata Women scientists from West Bengal 20th-century women physicians