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My dad started his work as a Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist in the late 60s. He had a firm belief that cure rates could and would climb as a result of resear
by akharris 1y ago
My dad started his work as a Pediatric Hematologist Oncologist in the late 60s. He had a firm belief that cure rates could and would climb as a result of research and better clinical care. He spent his life pursuing both.
When people would ask him how he managed to stay so positive - he was one of the happiest people I’ve ever known - he’d reference the trends highlighted in this article.
That didn’t change how hard it was when he lost a patient, but I know he always had his eyes and his mind on the future.
This is an incredible example of science and medicine. Thanks OP for posting it.
- felbane 1y agoSounds like you already know this, but your dad's a hero. Infinite respect for the folks who dedicate their lives to helping others.
- akharris 1y agoThanks for saying that. Here's a bit more about him from the obituary my sister wrote: https://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/pnys1147090 https://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/pnys1147090
- hasmolo 1y agowhat a guy, your dad was a great person
- akharris 1y agoThank you.
- phonon 1y agoBaruch dayan emes. He seemed like an extraordinary person.
- akharris 1y agoThank you so much. He was.
- throwaway2037 1y agoThis obituary is so well written that it could be a front page star on HN. I am not joking. Incredible. You dad was the like the good guy version of the Terminator -- unstoppable in all forms.
- akharris 1y agoThank you. My sister is an incredible write and he was a perfect subject.
- sizzle 1y agoSorry for your loss. He saved so many lives, what an incredible legacy he left on the world. He deserves to be celebrated widely. Please make a Wikipedia entry for his accomplishments?
- akharris 1y agoThank you. I've only ever had bad luck creating Wikipedia entries, though it's been a while.
- croisillon 1y agofor people outside US: https://web.archive.org/web/20250415180024/https://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/pnys1147090/ https://web.archive.org/web/20250415180024/https://www.north...
- thrdbndndn 1y agoI'm "outside US" and I can open the link directly. Is it blocked somewhere?
- croisillon 1y agoi get constantly redirected to https://eu.northjersey.com/ https://eu.northjersey.com/ probably because of GDPR or something
- sparklingmango 1y agoWow. Thank you for sharing. May his memory be a blessing to you and yours.
- akharris 1y agoThank you.
- ecshafer 1y ago> he recalled that when starting his residency at the Children's Hospital in Philadelphia in 1970, the survival rate for the sick children was only 30 percent Jesus, 30 percent survival rate of children. I couldn't image working in that kind of situation and not be emotionally destroyed. > Going from a 30 percent to an 80 percent cure rate, I'd say we are getting there Your father is a literal hero.
- akharris 1y agoThank you. What I love about that quote is that he knew that, some day, the cure rate would go even higher.
- ErigmolCt 1y agoIt's hard to imagine the emotional weight of working in pediatric oncology back then, when outcomes were so bleak
- ethbr1 1y agoMy father knew a neurosurgeon in the 70s(?), when the outcome statistics were pretty bleak. He asked him how he handled it, and the guy said "Because the few that I save wouldn't be, if we didn't do anything." Sometimes, greater than zero is the win.
- akharris 1y agoI don't fully understand how he did it. I know he took a lot from the line in the Talmud that said "whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world." My mom says that his baseline was incredibly high and that he was incredibly resilient. He also had a big rebellious streak, an analytical mind, and endless compassion.
- throwaway2037 1y ago> the line in the Talmud that said "whoever saves a life, it is considered as if he saved an entire world." I am not Jewish but I learned about this phrase watching the film Schindler's List in high school. That phrase, and listening to Ben Kingsley's character say it, has lived, rent-free, in my mind for the last umpteen years.