Frequently asked questions

Cancer is a growing healthcare challenge in India, yet access to comprehensive cancer care remains concentrated in a few metropolitan cities. Patients from Central Tamil Nadu and surrounding regions often travel long distances for advanced diagnosis and treatment, resulting in delayed care, financial hardship and emotional distress. This initiative aims to bring comprehensive cancer care closer to patients by establishing a regional cancer care institution in Trichy, reducing avoidable travel and improving timely access to life-saving treatment.

According to estimates from the Indian Council of Medical Research's National Cancer Registry Programme (ICMR-NCRP), shared by the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, India recorded approximately 15.7 lakh new cancer cases in 2025. Tamil Nadu alone recorded approximately 1.01 lakh new cancer cases during the same period. These numbers highlight the urgent need for timely diagnosis, radiation therapy, chemotherapy, surgical oncology and long-term follow-up care closer to patients and families.

The proposed cancer care institution in Trichy is strategically positioned to serve patients across Central, Southern, Eastern and Western Tamil Nadu, covering nearly 17 to 18 districts. Together, these regions represent an estimated catchment population of approximately 7.2 crore people. Once operational, the institution is expected to enable access for approximately 30,000 patients annually through comprehensive cancer diagnosis and treatment services.

Patients from many parts of Central Tamil Nadu continue to travel more than 300 kilometres to metropolitan centres such as Chennai and Bengaluru for advanced cancer diagnosis and treatment. This often results in delayed diagnosis, interrupted treatment, increased out-of-pocket expenses and significant emotional and financial burden for patients and their families. The project addresses this gap by creating comprehensive cancer care capacity closer to where patients live.

Trichy is centrally located and well connected to multiple districts across Tamil Nadu, making it an ideal location for a regional cancer care institution. In addition to its strong connectivity, Trichy is emerging as an important industrial, educational and medical hub after major metropolitan centres such as Chennai and Bengaluru. Establishing advanced oncology services in Trichy will help strengthen this growing healthcare ecosystem while improving access for patients from surrounding districts. By bringing cancer diagnosis and treatment closer to the region, the institution can reduce travel time, lower the burden on families and support timely cancer care delivery for a large underserved population.

Sughavazhvu Healthcare is a Section 8 not-for-profit healthcare organisation established to improve access to timely, affordable and quality cancer care. The organisation was created to mobilise philanthropic and CSR partnerships for critical oncology and imaging equipment, ensuring that patients have access to advanced cancer diagnosis and treatment closer to home.

Excel Healthcare, a unit of Excel Group, is the healthcare infrastructure and development arm supporting the creation of a comprehensive cancer care institution in Trichy. Excel Healthcare’s role extends beyond hospital infrastructure. It is being positioned as a long-term healthcare platform to support the expansion of cancer care services, paramedical education and training, and a dedicated research centre for Trichy and surrounding districts. By creating the physical, operational and institutional foundation, Excel Healthcare will enable high-quality oncology services to be delivered in a structured and sustainable manner for the region.

Sughavazhvu Healthcare and Excel Healthcare perform complementary roles within the project. Excel Healthcare is developing the hospital infrastructure and operational ecosystem, while Sughavazhvu Healthcare mobilises philanthropic and CSR support for critical oncology and imaging equipment. This structure combines professional healthcare delivery with transparent philanthropic governance, ensuring that donor-funded assets remain dedicated to their intended charitable purpose.

The vision for this initiative was conceived in 2020 and shaped by the personal experience of Mr. Muruganandam M, fondly known as MMM, Chairman of Excel Group of Companies and Director of SughaVazhvu Healthcare. As someone rooted in Trichy, he has long understood the region’s healthcare access challenges. Having witnessed close family members undergo cancer treatment, he experienced first-hand the limitations in accessing advanced oncology care within the region, particularly specialized diagnostics and radiation therapy. That experience became the foundation for creating a regional institution dedicated to improving access to quality cancer care.

This partnership offers an opportunity to create lasting regional healthcare capacity rather than support a one-time intervention. By funding critical oncology and imaging equipment, donors help establish permanent infrastructure that will enable earlier diagnosis, timely treatment and improved patient outcomes for thousands of patients every year. Every contribution helps create a lasting healthcare legacy while strengthening cancer care access for future generations.

This initiative will establish a comprehensive cancer care institution in Trichy, bringing advanced diagnostics, radiation oncology, chemotherapy, surgical oncology and supportive care together under one roof. The institution is designed to improve access to timely, high-quality cancer care for patients across Central Tamil Nadu and surrounding regions.

The project follows a collaborative funding model. Excel Healthcare is funding the hospital infrastructure, while Sughavazhvu Healthcare is mobilising philanthropic and CSR partnerships to procure approximately ₹50 crore worth of critical oncology and imaging equipment.

Philanthropic and CSR partnerships will support the procurement of critical oncology and imaging equipment required for comprehensive cancer diagnosis and treatment. This includes the LINAC, PET-CT Scanner, MRI Scanner and Brachytherapy Unit. These are life-saving clinical assets that directly enable earlier diagnosis, treatment planning, radiation therapy and continuity of cancer care.

Yes. Donors may choose to support a specific equipment or defined oncology service based on their philanthropic priorities. For example, a donor may partner to establish the LINAC facility, enable PET-CT diagnostic capacity, support advanced MRI imaging or contribute toward Brachytherapy services. Equipment-specific recognition, utilisation reporting and patient impact updates can be provided based on the nature of the partnership.

Donor-supported equipment will create long-term cancer care capacity for the region. Each equipment plays a specific role in the patient journey, from diagnosis and staging to treatment planning and radiation therapy.

Together, these technologies will help patients receive timely, accurate and continuous cancer care closer to home.

Once operational, the institution is expected to enable access for approximately 30,000 patients annually through outpatient consultations, diagnostics, chemotherapy, radiation therapy, surgical oncology and supportive care. This represents a significant expansion of regional cancer care capacity for patients who currently depend on distant metropolitan centres.

The institution is committed to ensuring that access to cancer care is guided by medical need, not financial circumstances alone. Patients may be supported through government health schemes, insurance, subsidised care pathways and philanthropy-supported access initiatives. The objective is to reduce the financial and travel burden for families while improving timely access to diagnosis and treatment.

Existing healthcare facilities provide valuable services, but comprehensive oncology care remains concentrated in a limited number of metropolitan centres. This project creates additional regional capacity by bringing advanced diagnostics, radiation oncology, chemotherapy, surgical oncology and supportive care together under one roof in Trichy. The institution is designed to complement existing healthcare infrastructure, not duplicate it.

Supporting individual patients provides immediate assistance. Funding medical equipment creates long-term healthcare capacity. A single major equipment partnership can benefit thousands of patients over many years by enabling repeated diagnosis, treatment planning and therapy access. This makes the contribution both immediate in-patient impact and lasting in institutional value.

Critical oncology equipment requires significant time for procurement, installation, calibration and commissioning. Early philanthropic and CSR partnerships will help ensure that the institution is equipped in line with its planned operational timeline. Timely support now can help avoid delays and ensure that patients begin receiving advanced cancer care as soon as the institution becomes operational.

Sughavazhvu Healthcare is registered as a Section 8 not-for-profit organisation and holds 12AB, 80G and CSR-1 registrations. These registrations enable eligible philanthropic and CSR partners to support the initiative in accordance with applicable regulations, while providing assurance that contributions are made through a compliant not-for-profit structure.

Donor contributions will be ring-fenced and used only for the approved oncology and imaging equipment. The use of funds will be supported through defined accounting, audit compliance, utilisation tracking and donor reporting. This ensures that every contribution remains purpose-driven, transparent and aligned with the donor's intended healthcare impact.

All donor-funded oncology and imaging equipment will be owned and governed by Sughavazhvu Healthcare. This ensures that philanthropic assets remain under the not-for-profit structure and continue to serve the intended charitable purpose of improving cancer care access.

No. Donor and CSR contributions under this proposal are intended specifically for the procurement of critical oncology and imaging equipment through SughaVazhvu Healthcare. Excel Healthcare is a separate entity responsible for supporting the hospital infrastructure. Donor-funded equipment will remain under SughaVazhvu Healthcare’s ownership, governance and reporting framework. This structure ensures that philanthropic contributions are directed toward patient-care capacity and are not diverted for unrelated commercial use.

Equipment procurement will follow a structured and documented process, including technical evaluation, vendor quotations, approvals, installation timelines and commissioning records. Relevant procurement and utilisation documentation may be shared with donors as part of the agreed reporting framework. This ensures transparency from equipment selection to final installation.

Impact will be measured through clear operational, clinical and patient-care indicators. These may include equipment utilisation, diagnostic investigations completed, radiation therapy treatments delivered, patient volumes, subsidised beneficiaries, treatment access indicators and reduction in travel burden for patients. Clinical parameters may include treatment initiation timelines, completion of prescribed treatment cycles, follow-up compliance, stage-wise patient data and other relevant care indicators, subject to clinical protocols and patient confidentiality norms. Where appropriate, anonymised patient testimonials and case stories may also be included to reflect the human impact of the institution beyond numbers. Impact reports can be shared with donors based on the nature and scale of their contribution.

Yes. Donors may define reasonable reporting expectations, recognition preferences and impact indicators as part of their contribution structure. This allows philanthropic and CSR partners to align their support with their internal governance, compliance and impact measurement requirements.

Sughavazhvu Healthcare can provide relevant statutory, governance and project documents for donor due diligence, subject to internal approval. These may include Section 8 details, 12AB, 80G and CSR-1 registrations, project information, equipment requirements, proposed utilisation framework, reporting commitments and other relevant documents required by CSR or institutional donors.

The institution is designed around a blended patient access model, including paying patients, insurance-supported patients, government scheme beneficiaries, subsidised care pathways and philanthropy-supported access. This model helps reduce long-term dependence on continuous donations while ensuring that underserved patients continue to receive access to timely cancer care.

The objective of the institution is to ensure that patients are supported based on medical need and not affordability alone. Access may be enabled through government schemes, insurance, subsidised care pathways and donor-supported initiatives. This approach allows the institution to balance long-term sustainability with its core charitable purpose.

Equipment maintenance, servicing and operational costs will be planned as part of the institution's long-term operating model. Sughavazhvu Healthcare and Excel Healthcare will work within a defined framework to ensure that donor-funded equipment remains functional, maintained and available for patient care. Where required, annual maintenance support may also be discussed with donors as part of a structured partnership.

Advanced medical equipment has a defined operating life and may require upgrades, replacement or technology enhancement over time. Sughavazhvu Healthcare will plan for long-term equipment stewardship through maintenance planning, utilisation monitoring and future replacement assessment. The objective is to ensure that donor-supported assets continue to create meaningful patient impact throughout their usable life.

The risk of underutilisation is low because the project is being developed to address a significant regional gap in cancer diagnosis and treatment. The institution is expected to serve a large catchment across Tamil Nadu, where many patients currently depend on distant metropolitan centres for advanced oncology care. Utilisation will be monitored regularly, and outreach, referral partnerships and patient access pathways will be strengthened to ensure that the equipment serves the intended population.

The institution will follow NABH-aligned quality and patient safety standards, supported by qualified clinical teams, standard operating protocols, equipment calibration, safety systems, treatment planning processes and periodic clinical review. Radiation and imaging equipment will be operated in accordance with applicable regulatory and safety requirements, including relevant AERB and equipment-specific safety protocols. The institution will also work towards NABH accreditation as part of its commitment to safe, reliable, ethical and patient-centred cancer care.

This institution is designed to complement public healthcare infrastructure, not compete with it. As the cancer burden continues to rise, additional regional capacity is essential to reduce pressure on existing hospitals and improve timely access to diagnosis and treatment. The institution can also support patients through government schemes, subsidised pathways and other access mechanisms where applicable.

Critical oncology equipment requires significant time for procurement, installation, calibration, licensing and commissioning. Early donor commitments will help align equipment readiness with the institution's planned operational timeline. Timely support can prevent avoidable delays and ensure that patients begin receiving advanced cancer care as soon as the institution becomes operational.

Yes. Structured contributions may be considered based on procurement milestones, project timelines and donor requirements. However, timely funding commitments are important because oncology equipment involves defined purchase, delivery, installation and commissioning schedules. A phased structure can be discussed where it supports both donor governance and project readiness.

International contributions will be accepted only in accordance with applicable Indian regulations. Since the FCRA process is currently underway, foreign contributions will be reviewed only after confirming the legally compliant route available at that stage.

Donor recognition may include equipment naming opportunities, department-level recognition, donor walls, institutional acknowledgements, legacy recognition and annual impact reporting linked to the supported asset. Recognition will be aligned with the contribution level, donor preference and the institution's recognition policy. The purpose is to honour the donor's role in creating lasting cancer care capacity for the region.

Sughavazhvu Healthcare offers donors the opportunity to create long-term, measurable healthcare impact through a compliant not-for-profit platform. The partnership combines a clear regional need, protected donor-funded assets, transparent reporting, clinical infrastructure support and a mission to improve access to cancer care for underserved patients. By partnering with Sughavazhvu Healthcare, donors help build permanent cancer care capacity that can serve patients and families for years to come.