Sunil Verma: World Cancer Day holds a deeply personal significance to me as an oncologist

Sunil Verma, Global Head of Oncology of Medical AstraZeneca, shared a post on LinkedIn:

“World Cancer Day holds a deeply personal significance to me as an oncologist, as I have seen first-hand the impact of cancer on patients and families. The day serves as a reminder of the remarkable progress we have made and the power of science and courage, however it also reminds us of the significant unmet need to address early detection, advance efforts across multiple tumor types, and the need for equitable treatment and care for all.

Looking at how we aim to change the cancer treatment landscape in 2024, I’ve been reflecting on why we work towards our goal of eliminating cancer as a cause of death and how we work with purpose in our roles and in partnership with patients, clinicians, researchers and health care systems.

At our 2023 leadership summit, I had the privilege of speaking with Ananda Plate, Cancer Survivor and Executive Director at Patvocates, who shared this call to action to work towards a future with better care for cancer:

“Be disruptive. Be Bold. Be revolutionary. Be Faster. Be more inclusive. And do it with patients, rather than just for patients.”

Ananda’s words continue to resonate with me over these past months as patients are at the heart of everything we do at AstraZeneca. With countless partnerships and teams across the globe, our focus is to close the care gap, by improving early detection and early diagnosis, and improving global access. Cancer is not slowing down and we bring this urgency in all that we do to stay ahead. By uniting in this fight against cancer, we can bring about positive change boldly, quickly, and for everyone, just like Ananda asked.”

Source: Sunil Verma/LinkedIn