Celebrating 25 years of RGCIRC

“Everything starts with an idea, a concept in the mind. A dream is shaped by actions. Actions become reality by sincerity and hard work. People say miracles happen to those who believe in them.”

Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre is that miracle which was conceptualized by Sh.K.K. Mehta and few like minded people such as Sh. AVM HKL Kapoor, Sh. ACM OP Mehra and Sh. OP Nayar in 1990. Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre saw the light of the day on 1^st July 1996.

Twenty five years on Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre is leading 500 bedded cancer hospital of north India, with state of the art facilities and tech – savvy People. It now houses fourteen modular OT’S, a BMT unit, three ICU’s, a well-equipped lab including a molecular lab and a blood bank with component facility. We have acquired 2 PET-CT machines, state of the art radiotherapy machines and established interventional radiology department. It has been our constant endeavor to improve the quality of cancer care. Today we recall 25 years of its journey of growth from infancy to adult hood.

Our patients and caregivers are not merely clients or contacts; they form the core of our ethos. We have built our relationships with them which is beyond clients or contacts. For our doctors, nurses and other staff members, the institute is not just a place of work, it is their identify, their second home. Care with empathy has become the USP of this institute. We try and live up to the founding principles of ethics and empathy as much as we can on every single day of our work at this institute. This institute is not just a building with splendid machines, it is a hospital with a sound heart. We pray that RGCIRC continues its journey towards excellence in cancer care.

In 2007 Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre decided to go into subspecialties within surgical oncology. Seven subspecialties (now nine) were created. Head & Neck, Breast, Gynae, Uro-Oncology, Thoracic, GI oncology, Ortho, Neuro Oncology and Reconstructive Surgery. Surgeons were quite apprehensive of being confined to single speciality and in the process lose out few of the patients. But in this bargain, we developed better surgical skills, procured the best equipments, technology, manpower and achieved better results. Within each subspecialty, we institutionalized good protocols and adopted NCCN guidelines.

Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre is a unique oncology center with subspecialties within a specialty service. On lines similar to surgical oncology, radiation and medical oncology services were also divided into subspecialties. Medical oncology now has Hematology, Breast, Thoracic, GI, GU medical oncology services parallel to surgical oncology. Radiation oncology also imbibed similar culture and developed head & neck, thoracic, GI, GU, breast radiation oncology units. There after we formed site specific clinics consisting of Breast Medical Oncology, Breast Surgical oncology and Breast radiation oncology. Even Pathology and radiotherapy Departments specialized in site specific services. Department of lab services developed molecular lab acquiring latest technologies eg. NGS, RT-PCR, FISH etc.

Fourth dimension of oncology in the form of “Interventional Oncology” was started in 2018 with various diagnostic and therapeutic interventions. Research wing of Rajiv Gandhi Cancer Institute and Research Centre gave thrust to better understanding of cancer biology. A biorepository was set up for preservation of tumors and blood samples for ongoing and possible further research at molecular level.

In the recent past, emergence of innovative I.T. technologies have rapidly changed the entire ecosystem. Electronic health record systems are increasingly being used. Imaging Systems are also being endowed with communication capabilities so that medical images can be directly sent to a central imaging repository (a Picture Archival & Communications System, PACS). The PACS allowed for easier handling of medical images and made them available to a physician on demand, and remotely. AI (Artificial Intelligence) is bringing Radiology and Pathology to a much greater convergence. Future of the diagnostics seems progressing very much on this line.

The founders of RGCIRC embraced their collective pain and burnt it as fuel for their journey that started with a dream and transformed into reality that is RGCIRC. In last 25 years it has become one of the finest facilities in cancer care in the country. Its multimodal and multidisciplinary care does not stop at advances in surgery, radiotherapy and medicines, it includes an ever willing ear, a shoulder to lean on, a kind word spoken, a small help given and a smile by all health professionals.

When I started my journey in RGCIRC on 1^st July 1996, I believed I knew what sympathy and empathy meant. But new meanings unravelled with time. I interacted with senior management, my colleagues, subordinates, thousands of patients and caregivers and realized that essence of care is empathy. To that life affirming principle, I offer my gratitude with folded hands.

Dr. A.K. Dewan
Director – Surgical Oncology