“With more than 50 years of experience in treating cancer patients from across the world — from being the chief of the cancer department in Tata Hospital to heading the cancer department of 8 corporate hospitals — with a passion to cure and prevent the spread of cancer in my patients, using the latest advanced treatments and medicines available in the world.”
Dr. S. H. AdvaniCo-Founder, SMHRCThe journey
Destiny’s child
Suresh Advani was born on 1 August 1947 in Karachi. When he was just fifteen days old, his family — parents, three brothers and three sisters — had to flee to India because of Partition, settling first in Deolali, Nashik, and later in Mumbai. For someone who had to leave home as an infant, he rose to become Chief of Medical Oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital and set up the oncology department at Jaslok Hospital, Mumbai.
Great aspirations
He had no great ambition until he was hospitalised with polio as a child. In the 1950s there were hardly any drugs for the disease, but the doctors he met during months in a Mumbai hospital inspired him to become one. After his MD he joined Tata Memorial in 1974 and trained at the Royal Marsden Hospital, London — choosing oncology at a time when few thought it worth pursuing.
Breaking the ceiling
In 1965 Grant Medical College rejected his application because they did not want a “crippled” student. He wrote to the authorities and ministers until the college relented, and completed his MBBS as a day scholar, winning countless distinctions along the way. His dedication and positivity have made him a role model for medical students and for people living with disability.
India’s first bone marrow transplant
At the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle he worked with Dr. E. Donnall Thomas — the father of bone-marrow transplantation and 1990 Nobel laureate — and specialised in transplants. Back in India he performed the country’s first successful bone marrow transplant, on a nine-year-old girl with myeloid leukaemia using marrow from her brother. He was also part of clinical trials in 1,200 children with lymphoblastic leukaemia that raised treatment success rates from 20% to 70%.
On cancer & hope
Dr. Advani never fails to inspire his patients: keeping hope alive is as important as treatment itself. He has watched oncology in India grow from a field once looked down upon as a “less lucrative area” into the specialty it is today.
Areas of expertise
Breast Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Cervical Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Lung Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Stomach Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Head and Neck Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Paediatric Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Blood Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Colorectal Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Prostate Cancer
Diagnosis, staging, treatment protocol and follow-up.
Oncology at Smita →Positions held
- Chief of Medical Oncology, Tata Memorial Hospital — 30 years (from 1974)
- Chief of Medical Oncology, Jaslok Hospital (set up the oncology department)
- Chief of Medical Oncology, Nanavati Hospital
- Chief of Medical Oncology, SL Raheja Hospital
- Chief of Medical Oncology, HN Reliance Hospital
- Chief of Medical Oncology, Sushrut Hospital
- Medical Oncologist, Hiranandani Hospital
- Co-Founder, Smita Memorial Hospital & Research Centre, Thodupuzha
Fellowships & achievements
- ICRETT fellowship of the International Union Against Cancer — Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Centre, Seattle, June 1981, in bone marrow transplantation and medical oncology
- Yamagiwa-Yoshida Memorial International Cancer Study Grant, UICC, 1986
- Credited with establishing the bone marrow transplantation set-up in India
- Pioneered the haematopoietic stem cell transplant technique for leukaemia patients
- Actively involved with over 500 national and international publications
- Known for treating high-grade cancers with the latest advanced medicines
Awards & honours
Padma Bhushan2012
Padma Shri2002
Dr. B.C. Roy Award2005
Harvard Medical International2005
Dhanvantari Award2002| Award | Conferred by / year |
|---|---|
| Padma Bhushan | Government of India, 2012 |
| Padma Shri | Government of India, 2002 |
| Rashtriya Krantiveer Award | 2014 |
| Baroda Sun Lifetime Achievement Award | Bank of Baroda, 2008 |
| Dr. Ch. Gnaneswar Memorial Oration Award | 2008 |
| Dr. B.C. Roy National Award | Medical Council of India, 2005 |
| Nazli Gad-el-Mawla Award | INCTR, 2005 |
| Lifetime Achievement in Oncology | Harvard Medical International, 2005 |
| Gifted Teacher Award | The Association of Physicians of India, 2004 |
| Dr. M.A. Panawala Oration | IMA North East Bombay Suburban Branch, 2003 |
| Dr. K.M. Bhansali Memorial Oration Award | 2003 |
| Dr. D.K. Gosavi Oration Award | 2003 |
| Dhanvantari Award | 2002 |
| PHO Oration Award | 2002 |
| Dr. M.S. Ramakrishnan Memorial Endowment Oration Award | 2002 |
Helping Hand — cancer care for all
Helping Hand is a non-profit organisation set up in 2002 by Mrs. Geeta Advani and Dr. Suresh Advani to help cancer patients and their families. Since opening its branch at Smita Hospital in 2022, it has conducted over 200 medical camps, awareness programmes and blood donation drives — including the breast cancer initiative “If women won’t go to the hospital, let us bring the hospital to them.”
See our social initiativesWhat his patients say
I never thought that I would be able to make it through this disease, but because of Dr. Suresh Advani's guidance and treatment I am finally cancer free. He is such an amazing doctor with a happy soul.
Hussian TegallyMauritiusThe team helped me to get healed with a positive attitude, which I am going to apply in my life as well.
It was my first visit with Dr. Suresh Advani and I must say he is an amazing doctor — so humble and down to earth. Getting treatment under him was a life-changing experience.
I was diagnosed with cancer in Chennai and was not satisfied with the treatment. I took a second opinion from Dr. Suresh Advani and now continue treatment locally with the plan he provided.
Frequently asked questions
Who is Dr. Suresh Advani?
Prof. (Dr.) Suresh H. Advani is one of India’s most respected oncologists and the first in India to successfully perform a bone marrow transplant. He was Chief of Medical Oncology at Tata Memorial Hospital for 30 years, received the Padma Shri (2002) and Padma Bhushan (2012), and is Co-Founder of Smita Memorial Hospital & Research Centre, Thodupuzha.
What cancers does Dr. Advani specialise in?
Breast, cervical, lung, stomach, head and neck, paediatric, blood, colorectal and prostate cancers, with pioneering work in haematopoietic stem cell transplantation for leukaemia.
How can I consult Dr. Advani at Smita Memorial Hospital?
Contact reception on +91 94961 43852 or WhatsApp to request an oncology consultation and to ask about his availability. Bring biopsy reports, scans and your treatment plan.
Can I get a second opinion and continue treatment locally?
Yes. Patients have taken a second opinion from Dr. Advani and continued treatment in their local hospital following the treatment plan he provided.
What was his contribution to bone marrow transplantation?
After training at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center in Seattle with Nobel laureate Dr. E. Donnall Thomas, he performed India’s first successful bone marrow transplant — on a nine-year-old girl with myeloid leukaemia, using marrow from her brother — and is credited with establishing BMT in India.
What is Helping Hand?
Helping Hand is a non-profit set up in 2002 by Mrs. Geeta Advani and Dr. Suresh Advani to help cancer patients. Its branch at Smita Hospital, opened in 2022, has conducted over 200 medical camps, awareness programmes and blood donation drives.