Honoring Shekinah Elmore’s Legacy

Shekinah Elmore was an Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, specializing in Radiation Oncology and Global Health, a position she had held since June 2020.

Prior to this, she was a Resident Physician in the Harvard Radiation Oncology Program from July 2016 to June 2020 and a Clinical Fellow at Harvard Medical School from 2010 to June 2020. She also served as an Intern in Internal Medicine at Brigham and Women’s Hospital.

She passed away on 24th July 2024. Doctors and patient advocates all around the USA shared their condolences:

Stephanie Chuang:

“Honoring a legend in cancer care: Dr. Shekinah Elmore.

I did not know her. I just stumbled upon her TED MED talk shared by Fumiko Ladd Chino. An incredible and poignant speaker who was both a cancer patient (multiple times) and radiation oncologist. The voice we all need to hear.

‘As oncologists, we talk to our patients as if the worst thing that could happen is that their cancer could come back, or that it could spread, or that they could die from it. As a patient, I know that these are paramount. But I want to change the way that we think about this. And I want to change the way that we talk about this with our patients.

As a patient, the worst thing that can happen is that cancer robs you of opportunity, of the ability to be, and to do, and to love. And it will. At least, temporarily, it will.

But to minimize this loss of life in the living, that is the harder, and I would say, truer job of the oncologist: to take all the tools that we have and situate them in the context of a patient’s whole entire life. To be guides for how to sit with suffering, acknowledge it deeply, but to not let fear of future suffering be the narrative for the journey forward.’

Thank you for the work you did. We will continue to feel the impact of your words for so many years to come.

She leaves behind a beautiful young son and her husband. If you’d like – visit this GoFundMe page is to directly support her family.”

Yara Abdou:

“It is with a heavy heart that I share the news of the passing of an incredible human being- Dr. Shekinah Elmore. I am deeply fortunate to have known her. Her kindness, dedication, and unwavering spirit left a lasting impact on everyone she met.

This is a profound loss for the Oncology community and the UNC family. May her soul rest in peace.”

Fumiko Ladd Chino:

“Words cannot describe how profoundly sad I am to share the news of Dr. Shekinah Elmore’s death this week. Shekinah was a SPECTACULAR human with profound wisdom, an incredible generosity of spirit, and a heart of kindness that lifted us all up.”

Charles R. Rogers:

“A giant of our generation has fallen: honor her! Dr. Shekinah Elmore, a beacon of equity and empathy in oncology, was a professor, researcher, and radiation oncologist at UNC-Chapel Hill.”

Leigh Simmons:

“I have fond memories of hundreds of students, but Shekinah Elmore was, as noted below, a spectacular woman and doctor. Unforgettable. Even when very ill, she communicated through a blog that was richly detailed, funny, poignant, and honest. This fund supports her husband and son.”

Hil Moss:

“Simply gutted to see this news. I first learned of Dr. Shekinah Elmore from watching her incredible TED talk, and was lucky enough to meet her virtually for an utterly inspiring conversation. Such a deep loss for the cancer community.”