Comment by akharris

Comment by akharris a day ago

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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 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 a day ago

Sounds like you already know this, but your dad's a hero. Infinite respect for the folks who dedicate their lives to helping others.

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  • akharris a day ago

    Thanks for saying that.

    Here's a bit more about him from the obituary my sister wrote: https://www.northjersey.com/obituaries/pnys1147090

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    • throwaway2037 21 hours ago

      This 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.

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      • akharris 15 hours ago

        Thank you.

        My sister is an incredible write and he was a perfect subject.

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    • sizzle 19 hours ago

      Sorry 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?

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      • akharris 7 hours ago

        Thank you. I've only ever had bad luck creating Wikipedia entries, though it's been a while.

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    • croisillon 18 hours ago

      for people outside US: https://web.archive.org/web/20250415180024/https://www.north...

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    • ecshafer 6 hours 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.

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      • akharris 3 hours ago

        Thank you.

        What I love about that quote is that he knew that, some day, the cure rate would go even higher.

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    • phonon a day ago

      Baruch dayan emes. He seemed like an extraordinary person.

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ErigmolCt a day ago

It's hard to imagine the emotional weight of working in pediatric oncology back then, when outcomes were so bleak

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  • akharris a day ago

    I 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.

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    • throwaway2037 21 hours 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.
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  • ethbr1 a day ago

    My 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.

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