Mr. 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. 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.
Mrs. Jasdanwalla worked with Mr. Sapru at John Wyeth & Brother as the Family Planning Officer. When he started CPAA, he felt that she would be a valuable asset and asked her to join as Honorary Secretary. She organised the first ‘fund raising programme’ at CPAA with a concert by the noted singer Begum Akhtar. This was followed by several film premier shows in aid of CPAA. Early on she realised the importance of engaging celebrities as ambassadors for our cause. With her grit and determination she opened many doors for CPAA when none had hope.
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.
Alka brings with her a wealth of experience gained over the last 32 years in cancer support services, financial and emotional counselling and developing partnerships with charitable organisations and corporates to enhance reach within the cancer community. After graduating in Microbiology from St. Xaviers College, Mumbai, she obtained a Post Graduate Degree in Medical Laboratory Techniques from Nair Hospital. After initially working with CPAA for 18 years, she worked at Cancer Council New South Wales, Australia as Program Manager and Financial Counsellor, overseeing Financial Assistance Services for cancer patients and in acute financial hardship.
Alka has recently been is appointed as the Chief Executive Officer and is a member of the Statutory Governing Body of CPAA. In her new role as CEO, she brings in this knowledge and understanding for enhanced impact and better outcomes.A general practitioner by profession, Dr. Bakre was well-known for her social work despite her growing practice. She joined CPAA in 1971 when its activities were expanding from just aid disbursement to including preventive aspects of cancer. She initiated CPAA's first cancer screening camp and has seen it grow from clinics at the Sophia College Medical Centre to St. Elizabeth Nursing Home, Adams Wylie Hospital at Agripada and Naigaon and most recently at Prabhadevi.
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. 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 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.
Vinaya Chacko, heads the most vital Patient Care Department and has been with CPAA since 1990. She joined CPAA after acquiring a Bachelors degree in Arts (Social Sciences) from SNDT College, Mumbai. Her repertoire of activities include registration of patients, hospital visits, planning medical aid, counseling and support for patients and their family members.
Besides, she is associated with planning house visits for palliative patients, organising special events, conducting playgroups for pediatric patients at various hospitals and institutes. She has also started working on a clinical research relating to counseling of breast cancer patients. Vinaya has received special training through programs like Breast Cancer Support Group Volunteers Training course organized by Indian Cancer Society, Sahachari and Mastectomees Association of India and Training Progamme in Social Work for Volunteers organized by Department of Extra Mural Studies, Tata Institute of Social Science. She recently attended The International Society of Paediatric Oncology (SIOP) meeting at the CICG, Geneva, Switzerland, where she made a presentation on ‘Art Therapy for Cancer Afflicted Children’.