ABSTRACT
The burden of cancer in India is immense with over one million people being newly diagnosed with cancer every year and approximately 700,000 deaths. The Tata Memorial Centre, founded in 1941, is a national comprehensive center for the prevention and treatment of, and education and research in cancer and is recognized as one of the leading cancer centers in Asia. The Radiation Oncology department is equipped with modern sophisticated state-of-the-art teletherapy and brachytherapy units offering the entire range of radiation treatments from conformal to IMRT with image guided radiotherapy (IGRT) to brachytherapy for most of the sites. Brachytherapy at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) dates back to 1941 with the introduction of "radon seeds". An Indian physicist, Dr. Ramaya Naidu, who had worked as a postdoctoral student under Madame Curie during the late 1930s was responsible for setting up the radon plant at TMH. The most commonly performed procedures are the intracavitary and interstitial procedures for cervical and endometrial cancers.
