Meet Our ACSU Alumni

Surendra S. Shastri, MD

Surendra S. Shastri, MD, is one of more than 50 cancer leaders who has participated in the intensive ACSU trainings.

Dr. Shastri has focused on preventive oncology for more than 20 years. Specializing in internal medicine, he currently heads the Department of Preventive Oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital, a leading comprehensive cancer hospital in India. Dr. Shastri has devoted much of his career to developing ways to provide low-cost, technologically simple tools to detect and treat cervical, breast, and oral cancers. His projects have been supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, the World Health Organization, and major Indian charities.

Dr. Shastri first attended ACSU in 2001 and used his seed grant to help launch an advocacy training program co-hosted by the American Cancer Society, among other organizations. The result of this program is an active network of tobacco control advocates in India–the Advocacy Forum for Tobacco Control. The AFTC is recognized by key Parliament and Ministry leaders for its significant impact in promoting tobacco control in India.

Dr. Shastri’s latest project is a cervical cancer screening research project for 3,500 women in low socio-economic areas of Mumbai. This research project will determine whether a two-step screening test, consisting of a visual inspection followed by DNA testing for the Human Papillomavirus, can successfully detect cervical cancers among women in areas that lack the proper testing resources. Dr. Shastri’s program is a crucial step toward reducing India’s cervical cancer burden, which accounts for one fifth of the world’s cases. With no organized cervical cancer screening programs underway in India, the two-step screening test program—if successful—would not only provide a good quality, low-cost alternative for cervical cancer screening in India, it could be the model for similar programs in developing nations all over the world.

ACSU India Alumni Participants

New Delhi 2007
Agra Cancer Society, Uttar Pradesh
All India Womens’ Conference, East Calcutta Constituency, West Bengal
Bhagwan Mahaveer Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, Rajasthan
Burning Brain Society, Chandigarh
Cancer Aid Society, Uttar Pradesh
Cancer Care Everywhere, Orissa
Cancer Foundation of India, West Bengal
Cancer Jagriti, Delhi
Cancer Patients Aid Association, Maharashtra
Cancer Sahyog, Delhi
CanKids...Kidscan, Delhi
Can-Stop, Sundaram Medical Foundation, Tamil Nadu
CanSupport, Delhi
Civil Hospital, Aizawl, Mizoram
Government Dental College & Hospital, Nagpur, Maharashtra
The Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute, Gujarat
Health Related Information Dissemination Amongst Youth (HRIDAY), Delhi
Helping Hand Charitable Trust, Maharashtra
Himachal Pradesh Voluntary Health Association, Himachal Pradesh
Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi
Hitaishini, West Bengal
IBM India Private Limited, Karnataka
Indian Association of Palliative Care, Assam
Indian Cancer Society - Kolkata, West Bengal
Indian Cancer Society, Delhi
Indian Co-operative Oncology Network, Maharashtra
Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh
Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS, Delhi
Karuna Kare Foundation, Gujarat
Kerala Voluntary Health Services, Kerala
LV Prasad Eye Institute, Andhra Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh Voluntary Health Association, Madhya Pradesh
Manglunia Charitable Trust, Assam
MNJ Institute of Oncology & Regional Cancer Centre, Andhra Pradesh
Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Neghbourhood Network in Palliative Care, Malappuram, Kerala
Rajasthan Cancer Foundation, Rajasthan
Rotary Club of South Calcutta Trust, West Bengal
Sreema Mahila Samity, West Bengal
SUT Institute of Oncology, Kerala
Tamil Nadu Voluntary Health Association, Tamil Nadu
Tata Memorial Centre, Maharashtra
Trivandrum Institute of Palliative Sciences, Kerala
V Care Foundation, Maharashtra
Women Healthcare Organization, Delhi

Washington, DC 2006
A.H. Regional Hospital Cancer Center, Orissa
Agra Cancer Society, Uttar Pradesh
Cancer Aid Society, Uttar Pradesh
Cancer Foundation of India, West Bengal
Cancer Patients Aid Association, Maharashtra
CanKids...Kidscan, Delhi
Can-Stop, Sundaram Medical Foundation, Tamil Nadu
CanSupport, Delhi
Dr. B.B. Cancer Institute, Assam
Government Dental College & Hospital, Nagpur, Maharashtra
Himalayan Institute of Medical Sciences, Delhi
Indian Cancer Society, Delhi
Institute of Medical Sciences, Banaras Hindu University, Uttar Pradesh
Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Karnataka
King George Memorial Center, Maharashtra
Moti Lal Nehru Medical College, University of Allahabad, Uttar Pradesh
Rajasthan Cancer Foundation, Rajasthan
Tata Memorial Hospital and Cancer Research Institute / Action Council Against Tobacco, Maharashtra
V-Care Foundation, Maharashtra

Chennai 2005
All India Womens’ Conference, East Calcutta Constituency, West Bengal
Banaras Hindu University, Institute of Medical Sciences, Uttar Pradesh
Cancer Aid Society, Uttar Pradesh
Cancer Foundation of India, West Bengal
Cancer Institute (WIA), Tamil Nadu
Cancer Patients Aid Association, Maharashtra
CanKids...Kidscan, Delhi
CanSupport, Delhi
Dr. B.B. Cancer Institute, Assam
The Gujarat Cancer & Research Institute, Gujarat
Helping Hand Charitable Trust, Maharashtra
Hitaishini (M.A.I. West Bengal), West Bengal
Indian Cancer Society, Delhi
Indian Cancer Society, Kolkata
Institute Rotary Cancer Hospital, AIIMS, Delhi
Karuna Kare Foundation, Gujarat
Kerala Pain & Palliative Care Society, Kerala
Kidwai Memorial Institute of Oncology, Karnataka
Mediland Hospital & Research Centre, Assam
Pallium India, Kerala
Rotary Club of South Calcutta Trust, West Bengal
Sahayta Charitable Welfare Society, Chandigarh
Sanjay Gandhi PGI, Regional Cancer Centre, Uttar Pradesh
S.M.S Medical College & Hosiptal, Rajasthan
Sundaram Medical Foundation, Tamil Nadu
V-Care Foundation, Maharashtra

Ireland 2004
Indian Cancer Society, Maharashtra

Atlanta 2004 Indian Cancer Society, Maharashtra

Taipei 2004
Saktipada Das Memorial Foundation, West Bengal

Oakland 2003
Saktipada Das Memorial Foundation, West Bengal

Oslo 2002
Rajasthan Cancer Foundation, Rajasthan
Tata Memorial Hospital and Cancer Research Institute / Action Council Against Tobacco, Maharashtra

New York City II 2001
Rajasthan Cancer Foundation, Rajasthan

New York City I 2001
Tata Memorial Hospital and Cancer Research Institute / Action Council Against Tobacco, Maharashtra