Olubukola Ayodele, Breast Cancer Lead at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“One of my oncology SpRs recently had the opportunity to attend his first international meeting. Dr Sunil Goyal present our 13-year data on brain metastases in breast cancer from the University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust at the San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium(SABCS).
I could not be prouder.
I am a product of conferences and scientific meetings. Those rooms changed how I thought, widened my horizons, and showed me what was possible beyond my immediate environment. They sparked ideas, ambition, and belief. Exposure matters. Representation matters. Opportunity matters.
Because of that, I have always been intentional about doing the same for every oncology trainee I supervise. If you work with me, you will leave with more than clinical experience. You will leave having asked questions, interrogated data, written abstracts, and contributed to the literature. Every trainee I have worked with has ended up with a publication. Not by accident, but by design.
Seeing my trainee stand on an international stage, confidently presenting work we built together, reminded me why this matters so deeply to me. We talk a lot about service delivery, targets, and pressures, but we do not talk enough about legacy.
Moulding the next generation of oncologists is one of the most important parts of my role. They are the future of our specialty. Our patients will depend on them. Our systems will rely on their leadership, curiosity, and courage.
Whether as a mentor, a sponsor, or a coach, my aim is simple: to open doors, create visibility, and stretch trainees beyond what they think is possible for themselves. Mentorship is transformative and bidirectional.
To me, success is not just personal achievement.
Success is when you can replicate yourself in others.
Success is when those you support become even greater than you.
He’s already made new connections with plans to collaborate on global research. Watching his journey unfold has been a privilege, and I am excited to see where the next generation of oncologists will take us.”
More posts featuring Olubukola Ayodele.
