Valentine’s Day is often painted in bright reds and soft pinks, roses wrapped in paper, candlelight dinners, handwritten cards sealed with hope. But in the world of oncology, love takes on a different shape. It becomes quieter, steadier, and somehow even stronger.
Here, love shows up in hospital corridors and late-night check-ins. In the gentle squeeze of a hand before a scan. In the most powerful sentence someone can say: “I’m here.”
At OncoDaily, we’re honored to receive many private messages from our followers, words written for someone they love, for someone they miss, for someone they’re fighting alongside. Some are romantic. Some are heartbroken. Some are filled with hope. But all of them carry one truth: love does not disappear in difficult times. It becomes more intentional.
This Valentine’s Day, with permission and keeping identities anonymous, we’re sharing ten short letters from our followers. They are personal, real, and deeply human and they remind us that love can be a form of strength.
10 Valentine’s Day Letters
“Let my Valentines be my mom. The mom who went for a breast check up and came back home with a diagnosis. The mom who fought and loved, even more than she did before. Let this be for you. I love you and the fight you gave, I love you hairless and with hair. I love you sick and I love you healthy even more. Thank you for going through it 2 years ago, for not giving up, and for making me smile every day. May the pain never ever find you again, my love. Your beloved daughter ))”
“It is love: Life influences life and everything may be possible in the world.”
“My Love, This Valentine’s Day, I am not celebrating flowers, gifts, or grand moments. I am celebrating you, your strength, your courage, and the quiet battles you fight with a grace that humbles me every day. Loving you in this season has taught me that love is not only found in laughter and ease, but also in hospital corridors, in long waits, in whispered prayers, and in holding hands when words are not enough. I have learned that true love shows up, stays, listens, and hopes, even on the hardest days. Cancer may try to write a chapter in our story, but it will never be the author of it. What defines us is how we continue to love, to believe, and to stand together through it all. You are more than a diagnosis. You are the same beautiful soul I cherish, the same heart I admire, the same person I choose, today and always. If today feels heavy, let this note remind you: you are deeply loved, fiercely supported, and never alone. We walk this journey side by side, one step, one breath, one day at a time. Happy Valentine’s Day, my heart.”
“My heart,
I fell in love with you once, and then I fell in love with you again — in a different way.
I fell in love with your courage.
With the way you stood in front of fear and did not let it take your light.You showed me a kind of strength that made my love for you deeper than I ever thought possible.
You are not defined by what happened to you.
You are defined by how beautifully you continue to live.I choose you. Today. Always.”
“If you feel tired, let me carry hope for both of us. You are loved more than you know.”
“Loving you changed me.
It taught me patience.
It taught me courage.
It taught me what it means to truly stand beside someone.You made me a better human, simply by existing in my life.
There is no version of my world where I would not choose you.”
“Thank you for fighting to stay. Every day with you feels like a miracle. Happy Valentine’s Day, my love.”
“My love, this Valentine’s Day I don’t see illness when I look at you. I see the same person I fell in love with. The same eyes that calm me, the same heart that holds mine so gently. You showed me what real courage looks like, not in loud moments, but in quiet ones. I love you not because you are strong, but because you are you. And I will stand beside you, today and always.”
“Happy Valentine’s Day to the love of my life. You are stronger than you know, and braver than you believe. Watching you face this with courage made me fall in love with you in a deeper way. I am so proud of you. And so grateful you are mine.”
“My love,
I still remember the day everything changed. The day the word entered our lives and suddenly nothing felt safe anymore. I remember looking at you and realizing how unfair life can be to the gentlest souls.
There were nights I cried quietly beside you, pretending to be strong, because I didn’t want you to carry my fear too. But you saw it anyway. You always did.
And still, you kept going. You kept breathing. You kept loving me when you had every reason to fall apart.
You taught me that strength is not about not breaking. It’s about breaking and choosing to live anyway.
I don’t know what tomorrow brings. But I know this: you are here today. And today, I love you more than ever.
Please stay. Please keep fighting. Our story is not over yet.”
Write to the One You Love: A Valentine’s Invitation from OncoDaily 2026
Written by Nare Hovhannisyan, MD