Yogendra Kumar Sapru

Mr. Yogendra Kumar Sapru is an experienced pharmaceutical professional who started his career with John Wyeth & Brother in 1963, where he progressed from the post of a Medical Representative to the Marketing Director. Subsequently, he joined Johnson & Johnson in the pharmaceutical division for 10 years and the diagnostic division for 7 years. He retired as their Executive Director in 1999. His association with cancer patients began way back in 1969, when he was visiting a friend at Tata Memorial Hospital. On the bed alongside was a little girl battling leukemia, but with little means. Mr. Sapru, along with a few friends, stepped in and raised the money required for the treatment. Jaya Jhabbar was cured and CPAA was born. It is his vision and farsightedness that has seen a germ of an idea mature into the well-respected association that CPAA is today. It was Mr. Y. K. Sapru who coined the phrase 'Total Management of Cancer', the credo that has been the cornerstone of CPAA's philosophy all these years. Over the years, he has received several awards and citations, which are a true testimony of his sense of purpose and determination.

Rekha Sapru

Rekha Sapru was a columnist with Dharamyug and Eve's Weekly magazines. She was also a radio and TV artist and had worked with Doordarshan. She was one of the founder members of CPAA. Her husband, Mr. Sapru, started CPAA in 1969, but due to his busy work schedule, the daily running of the fledgling organisation fell on Mrs. Sapru by default. This was a task that she was well suited for, given her exposure to social work from childhood and her column 'Upchar Samachar' for Dharamyug where she answered readers' queries related to medical problems, experience that stood her in good stead when handling the queries of cancer patients and their families.

She was honoured with the Giants Award 1999, in the field of Social Service. Giants International also honoured her for her outstanding contributions at the Giants Anniversary Celebration on the Founder's Day.

Manju Gupta

Manju Gupta was the first newscaster and newsreader with Bombay Doordarshan, presenting programmes in both Hindi and English. In 1974 she moved to US and worked at Cornell University Medical College during the day, attending a course in Television and Film Production at night. When she returned to India in 1982, she joined Doordarshan again, a move that would eventually bring her to CPAA. She joined CPAA in 1984 and as her first assignment created 5 low cost audiovisuals for CPAA. These were greatly appreciated and raised awareness about CPAA activities. She then took charge of the newly sanctioned Adams Wylie center where the Red Cross had given space to CPAA, for rehabilitation and employment of cured cancer patients. The Rehabilitation Centre started under her tutelage with just one person and a single machine. Manju has used her initiative and creativity to develop the centre with a capacity to accommodate almost 100 persons, who can be trained in various arts and crafts like tailoring, painting, book binding, etc. Her contribution towards creating this oasis for cancer patients has been awarded with multiple awards and citations. Over the years, Manju has contributed many articles to the prestigious “Dharmyug”, a Times of India Publication, has been a ghost editor of “Janssen News”, a Phychriatric News Magazine of Johnson & Johnson, and been a member of Council for Fair Business Practices, Consumer Affair Cell, Film Censor Board, Agroha Vikas Trust, Shri Hari Satsang Samiti, Akhil Bhartiya Agarwal Sammelan, FICCI Ladies Wing and IMC Ladies Wing, Mumbai. Manju is particularly proud of creating the “Salonè Diyè” range of diyas, Candles and Gift Products, exclusive Hotel Linen items for the Taj Group of Hotels which are regularly supplied all over India and abroad, and an indigenously developed hand-made Breast Prosthesis made by cancer patients for mastectomy patients Salonè Diyè and Gift Articles have been show cased every year in multiple National and International Exhibitions, and have won allocades from one and all.

Dr. Shubha Maudgal

Dr. Maudgal, a PhD from IIT Mumbai, has worked as a Resident Research Associate at NASA, USA; Technical Services Executive at Johnson & Johnson, Mumbai; Scientist at Aeronautical Development Establishment, Bangalore and Research Scientist at National Physical Laboratory, London. When she joined CPAA in 1999 her first task was to help set up CPAA presence on the World Wide Web through an informative and exhaustive website. Having seen, what this relatively new medium could achieve abroad, Shubha felt that this was a project worth pursuing. The website provided a means to make CPAA’s activities known to a wider audience, helped network with similar organisations globally and made it easier to reach potential customers of products produced by the Rehabilitation Centre, thus making us economically self-sufficient. Today she spear-heads the Special Projects team by applying prevailing technology, ideas or issues to take the organisation forward and upward.

Anita Peter

Anita Peter joined CPAA in 1991. Her multi faceted nature, exemplary, communication skills and commitment, soon saw Anita move to the position of Director, Cancer Insurance Policy, a department which required perfect balance between customer satisfaction, empathy towards patients and deliverance of Insurance claims on time. She plays a very vital role in Event Management and shares a major responsibility in organising events for the association. Anita's liaising skills benefited the organisation in the form of donations and goodwill. She is the proud recipient of the UICC's APCASOT Fellowship for a study she undertook on the methodology utilised to combat tobacco issues and cancer screening at the Queensland Cancer Fund (QCF), Australia in 2004. Since then, Anita has been responsible for the training of the international APCASOT (UICC) scholars that CPAA hosts for a week every year.

Dr. Noopur Khare

Dr. Noopur Khare, an accomplished scientist, specializes in oncology, drug design, molecular biology, gene expression, and chemo-sensitization studies. Her extensive work in chemo-sensitization to combat multidrug resistance in chemotherapy has significantly contributed to improving cancer treatment. Her affiliation with the Birla Institute of Technology, numerous presentations at national and international conferences, and multiple publications in renowned journals reflect her active engagement in the scientific community and her contribution to disseminating knowledge in oncology. Dr. Khare is at the forefront of cutting-edge research methods, particularly in cancer studies and innovative procedure development. In July 2023, she joined Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA) as a Director, prioritizing awareness, education, and prevention initiatives for cervical cancer. Through CPAA’s Eliminate Cervical Cancer Program, she dispels myths, educates communities about lifestyle factors, and organizes screening and vaccination camps in diverse settings, contributing to both immediate challenges and long-term health improvements. Her passion lies in breast and cervical cancer research and immunology, where she aspires to make substantial contributions thereby positively impacting the healthcare landscape. Moreover, Dr. Khare has played a pivotal role in assisting renowned companies in establishing their molecular and cytology labs. Her expertise in this area has been instrumental in advancing their research capabilities and expanding their scientific endeavours.

Niharika Raina

Niharika Raina has a bachelor’s degree in Arts and Diploma in Interior Designing. She started working with CPAA’s Delhi Branch as a volunteer in 1980 and full time thereafter in 2000. She was responsible for organising cancer screening and awareness camps and in managing day to day operations of the branch. She now heads the New Delhi branch and is deeply involved in spear-heading and supervising it’s activities.

Sumangla Sapru

After her graduation in Economics from Sophia College, Mumbai, Sumangala worked for a year with CPAA in 1986. She joined CPAA's Pune Branch in 2013, having spent several years in the interim in the education sector where she worked as a teacher and coordinator at various schools. While her initial focus was on fundraising activities, she gradually took on additional responsibilities including organising detection camps and awareness sessions and handling administrative matters. She took over as the head of the Pune branch in 2018 and under her guidance the unit has gone from strength to strength in organising each of CPAA's core activities.

Aditi Bapat

Aditi has a bachelor’s degree in Commerce and Economics from Mumbai University and a Diploma in Software Technology and Systems Management from NIIT. She has successfully completed her UICC APCASOT fellowship at the Queensland Cancer Fund, Brisbane, Australia. She joined CPAA in 2001 and currently heads the Information Technology Services of CPAA. She is responsible for overseeing technology operations and evaluating them, devising and establishing IT policies and systems, planning, implementing, and managing computer networks and software to mobile devices and cloud computing in order to harness emerging technologies to improve efficiency and create new opportunities for the organization. She conducts regular training and upskilling sessions for all employees on information technology policies and procedures to ensure compliance. She also manages CPAA’s digital platform and oversees branding and related collaterals.