Fortis awards cancer survivor

Actress Ms Lisa Ray along with award recepient Mary Francis & Aditya Vij

Fortis Cancer Institute, and Lisa Ray honoured Dr Mary Francis with ‘Fortis Spirit of Life Award’ for her battle against breast cancer. Receiving the honour from Ray, Dr Mary Francis who fought her battle against cancer said, “I faced cancer with confidence without letting the disease affect my zest for life. God has given me a new life and I would like to use it positively by spreading awareness about cancer and to urge people to face with the right spirit.” Dr Mary Francis, who owns a clinical research company, while undergoing surgery and chemotherapy, continued doing her routine activities. She even travelled to France during her battling phase.

Commenting on the initiative Lisa Ray said, “As a patient, I had to go through fear and isolation, it is human. I have learnt that conquering cancer is all about attitude. I was blessed to find immense support because I sought for it. When you need help, ask for it! Being a cancer survivor I can surely say that this initiative will bring to the forefront many cancer advocates who are great inspirers.”

Aditya Vij, CEO, Fortis India, said, “At Fortis, our foray into oncology was a few years ago. We have dedicated oncology centers offering comprehensive cancer care services in several of our facilities. Taking this commitment forward we started the Fortis Cancer Institute in Mulund in 2010. We didn’t want to build just another Centre for Cancer treatment but a centre of excellence. With this in mind we assembled a fine team of surgeons, specialists and oncologists. We built a brand new block and we equipped it with the best machinery some of which are first in the city like VMAT (Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy) & IORT (Intra Operative Radiation Therapy). Most of all we made sure that there were systems in place to  offer our patients the Fortis 3C (Comprehensive customised Care) that would embrace all forms of treatment modalities-  medical, surgical and radiations and take a patient from diagnosis to cure, follow up and counseling under one roof.”

Also present on the occasion Dr Lloyd Nazareth, President & COO, Fortis said, “Fortis Cancer Institute is one of the few centres in India to offer end to end cancer care from diagnostic to rehabilitation. We also have a fully integrated cancer control program that emphasizes prevention and early detection. Currently we are treating the largest number of cancer patients in the city with our widespread network.”

While unveiling ‘Fortis Lisa Ray Spirit of Life Award’ Varun Khanna, Regional Director, Fortis Hospitals (East & West) added that this initiative is a part of our 3C commitment. As we lead our innovative way to build a healthier community, we are also announcing the launch of – Fortis 3C support group… the 3 C translates into comprehensive, customised, care for our patients. The support group intends to reach out to patients through a support system which will help them fight the disease saying ‘you are not alone – we are there with you’.