Cancer surgeon gets Karmayogi Puraskar 2008

Disturbed by the plight of cancer patients left to die,Dr Louis De Souza started India’s first ever hospice — Shanti Avedna Sadan— in the year 1986 to give palliative care. Twenty-three years later,he has helped open one center each in Mumbai,Goa and Delhi to fulfill his mission. 

Dr De Souza was felicitated with Karmayogi Puraskar 2008 by Bombay Medical Aid Foundation on Sunday. “The award has been given for his exemplary work done in the field of oncology for the underprivileged,” said Dr Arun Kumar Saraf,President Bombay Medical Aid Foundation,a non profit organisation offering financial and medical aid to underprivileged patients from across the country. It all started while he was a surgeon at the Tata Memorial Hospital. “Everyday I had patients coming to me who had no where to go. I felt helpless. When I went touring to England and visited St Christopher Hospital I saw how terminally-ill patients were taken care of,I realised we could adapt this in India,” said Dr De Souza,a renowned cancer surgeon. 

It was then that he opened Shanti Avedna Sadan in Mumbai. With a constant influx of patients,Shanti Avedna Sadan is now expanded to 100 bedded hospice. “No active medicine is given here. We try to make the patient symptom free and comfortable. The terminally-ill patients need attention in various fields like medical,nursing,mental,social,spiritual and financial. The care provided to them is a team effort. Each member of the team looks after the patient in his/her specialty. The team consists of doctors,nurses,counsellors,volunteers and spiritual advisors,” he said.

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Dr De Souza added,“We are soon going to start with complementary medicine like ozone therapy,Ayurveda and other recognised therapies for these patients to ease out pain.”

Meanwhile Bombay Medical Aid Foundation has recently launched a website bombaymedicalaid.com where profile of people seeking financial help is uploaded and donors can scan through it and offer help.