About Sharana Trust
Sharana Breast Cancer Relief & Research Foundation is a non-profitable, charitable, non-governmental organization, which aims to assist those women who are challenged with the diagnosis of breast cancer.
We are entirely dedicated to breast cancer treatment and research with a reputation for excellence and state-of-the-art technology.
Our goal is very simple - it is life. Anyone who suffers from potentially curable breast cancer and is economically disadvantaged, is a beneficiary.
Every year thousands of women are affected by breast cancer. It not only has an impact on individuals diagnosed with the disease, but their families and next of kin as well. Timely appropriate medical consultation and counselling is a luxury most women do not have and the situation is much worse when disadvantaged by a lower socio economic and educational status. Our motto is that we believe that every woman has a right to quality breast cancer treatment that can save her life. Surviving breast cancer should not depend on social or economic strata.
Trustees

Dr. Venkat V Ramakrishnan is an internationally acclaimed plastic surgeon, with special interest in aesthetic and reconstructive surgery of the breast. He was the first national tutor in Plastic Surgery for the Royal college of Surgeons of England. He conducts training courses to teach Plastic Surgery and Breast Oncoplasty. Apart from being a skilled surgeon, he is also an ardent reader and a keen follower of Formula 1 motor racing.

Smt. Vishalla Vairavan runs the business enterprise, FANTASMO, a graphic studio. She uses it as a platform to transform everyday photos into picture perfect coffee table albums and restores old, damaged photographs. She plays a significant role in the curation and maintenance of ancient, traditional heirloom furniture belonging to the community of Chettiar culture in Kanadukathan, Tamil Nadu. Her varied skills include the art of vegetable carving and she is also the author of a cookbook “A Hundred Secrets From The Chettiar Kitchen”.

Shri. Chandrakant Kankaria, Director of Olympia Group (which is the landmark of Chennai’s IT hub) has come all the way from running a small family business to establishing and managing multi crore business. With a Masters in Finance from University of Pennsylvania, he holds directorships in the following companies - Olympia Tech Park (Chennai) Pvt Ltd, Khivraj Tech Park Pvt Ltd, Olympia Cyberspace Pvt Ltd, Meenambakkam Realty Pvt Ltd. He is a voracious reader and has travelled extensively. He enjoys playing golf and swimming apart from his work.

Smt. Sridevi Subramanian is the coordinator for the Sharana support group and Human Resources Manager at Chennai Breast Centre. The monthly newsletters of Chennai Breast Centre are published by her regularly. Earlier her passion to work with children made her change to education field (The School KFI) from banking sector. She is the founder of Koodam, a storytelling firm which engages people across age groups with captivating stories. She enjoys poetry - both reading and writing, travelling, nurturing her terrace garden and taking up freelance content writing projects. In her wish to make a difference to the community she is involved as a volunteer in various organizations like Nizhal and Madras Literary Society.

Shri. M.C. Srikanth is a practising Chartered Accountant for more than 45 years specialising in the field of Corporate Audits including internal audit, rendering tax advisory services. He is also a trustee in Schools and Temples. Along with being an independent director in companies rendering advisory services in Corporate Governance his heart and actions are always driven towards Charity, Education and Sanatana Dharma.

Smt. Archana Ramanakumar is a seasoned IT industry leader with about 25+ years on industry experience. She heads Global delivery for a large IT services firm in India and is part of their Executive leadership team. Prior to this, she was part of the Executive leadership team at Cognizant, where she spent about 24 years donning various leadership roles. She championed Women leadership forum at Cognizant & has been a role model for several women leaders. She is passionate about spending time with non-profit organizations and social enterprises, actively contributing to the field of education and healthcare. She is the managing trustee of a charitable trust and a fitness enthusiast.
Awareness
Volunteers
Women with breast cancer need supportive care for physical, social, psychological and spiritual needs. Their carers might need support to fulfil the carer’s role. There is a need for well-communicated and timely information about breast cancer, treatment and care during and after their breast cancer journey. The mindset and approach towards the disease and its treatment is vital and allows for holistic management. The aim is to allay the fear of having to face this challenge and to instil confidence that this too shall be overcome, and they are not alone in this journey. Our volunteers help with counselling along with our medical professionals to provide this much needed support during and after treatment.
Assistance with Treatment
Numerous patients have been assisted financially with surgery and additional treatments through the trust.
After Care & Support Group
Research has shown that support groups help reduce the three most significant stress associated with cancer: unwanted aloneness, loss of control, and loss of hope.
At Sharana we have three different support group meetings
Small Group Meetings
Large Group Meetings
Prosthesis and chemo caps
We also have a group of volunteers who knit prosthesis for patients who have had their mastectomy. These are cotton external prosthesis that can be inserted into bra pockets and help to mask the physical deformity caused by a lack of a breast. This makes a psychological impact and helps patients bounce back into their social activities with lesser hesitancy and worry of stigma. We also provide them with Chemo caps and advise regarding wigs for hair loss during chemotherapy.
Research
Breast Histopathology Laboratory with Tumour banking facility : A dedicated Breast Cancer Pathology lab and Biobanking facility to store FFPE blocks and fresh frozen tissue in a minus 80 degree freezer and blood components are functional with appropriate permissions and licenses. These facilitate research opportunities which may lead to breakthroughs in breast cancer treatment and prognostication.
Training
We offer one-week training programs to young surgeons and radiologists, giving them the opportunity to gain insight into breast imaging and breast surgery at Chennai Breast Centre. The program allows them to assist with surgical procedures including oncoplastic procedures, sentinel lymph node biopsies. They are given the chance to observe the functioning of the one stop diagnostic facility where clinical examination, mammography, breast ultrasound and ultrasound guided interventions are performed. We conduct workshops and seminars in our in-house conference room that is equipped with an interactive screen with facilities for video transmission. This allows for in-person and online meetings to be conducted seamlessly.