Joanna Metzner-Sadurski, President of Oncology101.org, Adjunct Professor at Edward Via College of Osteopathic Medicine, shared Ruiling Yuan‘s, Hematologist/Oncologist and Dyad Director of Cancer Services at Self Regional Healthcare, post on LinkedIn:
“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and breast cancer awareness matters deeply. But today I am also thinking about cancer awareness more broadly.
I saw a post today from a mother whose daughter died after transplant from VOD. She wrote”
‘What I would give for five more minutes.’
In oncology, we hope to cure. We fight for remission, for longer survival, for better treatments, for less suffering. Research is moving forward, but it is still not perfect. Sometimes we succeed. Sometimes we fail.
And sometimes, at the most human level, what we are fighting for is five more minutes.
- Five more minutes with a daughter.
- Five more minutes with a mother, father, family, friends.
- Five more minutes to say I love you.
Breast cancer. Blood cancer. Any cancer. This month should remind us why awareness, access, research, compassion, and time all matter.
Thank you Ruiling Yuan, for this beautiful reflection.”
Quoting Ruiling Yuan:
“October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month.
While in San Francisco, I came across the Bay Area Young Survivors Breast Cancer Memorial Garden, a quiet and powerful place honoring young people whose lives were taken by metastatic breast cancer and all those impacted by this disease.
Words from the breast cancer community are woven throughout the garden, about courage and vulnerability, scars and healing, heartbreak and hope.
One line especially stayed with me:
‘Traveling together, to the end, so no one goes alone.’
As an oncologist, this deeply resonated with me. Cancer care is more than treatments, scans, and numbers. It is also about walking alongside our patients and families through healing, living, and sometimes dying.
And at the center of the garden:
‘And it will be enough.’
This October, we honor survivors, remember those we have lost, and continue advocating for research, better treatments, and access to high-quality cancer care.”
You may also be interested in: October Is Breast Cancer Awareness Month: Turning Awareness Into Earlier Diagnosis and Better Care
