Mahaveer Ashray– Hospice & Palliative Care Services

Mahaveer Ashray is a dedicated hospice facility of the Cancer Institute (WIA), Adyar, providing comprehensive palliative and end-of-life care for patients with advanced cancer. Established in 2017 and located at Sriperumbudur, the hospice is a serene 5-acre green campus designed to promote comfort, dignity, and peace.

Palliative care focuses on relieving pain and distressing symptoms, while also addressing the emotional, social, and spiritual needs of patients and their families. At Mahaveer Ashray, care is centred not only on illness, but on helping individuals live meaningfully, fully, and with dignity—until the very last moment of life.

Hospice care is specialized care for patients with advanced, life-limiting illness, where the focus shifts from cure to comfort, quality of life, and dignity.

• Provide effective pain and symptom management

• Offer emotional and psychological support to patients and families

• Ensure dignified end-of-life care honoring personal choices

• Support families through caregiving guidance and bereavement

In advanced cancer, patients and families often face immense physical suffering, emotional distress, and financial challenges. Hospice care provides a vital sanctuary by offering:

• A calm, peaceful, and supportive environment

• Allowing families to focus on being together with love and presence

• Reducing frequent, exhausting, and unnecessary hospital admissions

Mahaveer Ashray is a 60-bed stand-alone hospice serving patients with advanced cancer. All services at the hospice are provided completely free of cost, reflecting the Cancer Institute’s philosophy of “service to all” irrespective of socio-economic status.

• The clinical expertise of a world-class cancer hospital

• The warmth, dignity, and comfort of a peaceful home-like environment

• An essential component of a compassionate, holistic healthcare system

Care at Mahaveer Ashray is delivered by a comprehensive multidisciplinary team, ensuring holistic support across every dimension:

• Doctors trained in palliative medicine and symptom management

• Nursing staff providing 24×7 compassionate bedside care

• Psychologists for emotional, psychological, and mental health care

• Medical social workers assisting with social, practical, and family needs

• Physiotherapists supporting mobility, comfort, and functional independence

• Volunteers offering companionship, empathy, and warm interaction

Specialist consultation is also available through telemedicine support from the main Cancer Institute (WIA) campus in Adyar.

1. Medical & Symptom Management

Pain relief and proactive management of distressing symptoms such as breathlessness, nausea, fatigue, anxiety, and delirium. Individualized end-of-life care focused entirely on comfort and dignity.

2. Continuous Nursing Care

Continuous 24×7 bedside nursing, specialized wound care, oral hygiene care, enteral feeding support, and attentive care for bed-bound patients.

3. Psychological & Social Support

Dedicated counselling for patients and families, support for emotional distress, fear, and uncertainty, structured guidance for caregivers, and bereavement support.

4. Nutrition & Basic Living Needs

Wholesome, nutritious meals prepared freshly and provided free of cost in a clean, hygienic, and comfortable living environment.

5. Physiotherapy & Functional Support

Gentle exercises to improve mobility and reduce stiffness, therapeutic positioning techniques to prevent pressure sores, and support for functional independence.

6. Personal Care & Dignity Services

Salon services including hair care, grooming, and personal hygiene assistance to help patients feel comfortable, refreshed, and dignified.

Recognizing that healing goes beyond medicine, Mahaveer Ashray integrates complementary wellness therapies into routine daily life:

• Yoga and meditation sessions for relaxation and inner calm

• Mindfulness and supportive therapies to alleviate emotional anxiety

• Spiritual care, deeply respecting individual faiths and personal traditions

At Mahaveer Ashray, the focus is not only on care, but on life itself. We believe every person deserves to experience joy, connection, and meaning, spend quality time with loved ones in nature, and be seen as a unique human being—not just a patient.

• Festivals, birthdays, anniversaries, and special milestones are joyfully celebrated

• Creative expression, music, and art therapy are actively encouraged

Mahaveer Ashray houses India’s first hospice-based art gallery, showcasing artworks created by patients. This initiative encourages self-expression and emotional healing, preserves patient stories and experiences, and creates a lasting legacy for families and the community.

Serious illness affects the entire family unit. Mahaveer Ashray provides emotional and practical support for caregivers, comprehensive training on home-based patient care, and compassionate bereavement support.

• Live fully until the last moment

• Comfort, respect, and dignity above all

• Holistic care for body, mind, and spirit

• Family-centered, compassionate approach

• Presence, empathy, and unconditional support

Facility: Mahaveer Ashray – A Unit of Cancer Institute (WIA) Address: 1258c, Kiloy Road, Sriperumbudur, Tamil Nadu – 602105 Phone: +91 98848 17625 Email: ma.hospice@cancerinstitutewia.org