- [Interviewer] Look at the camera.
Close your eyes.
What's the first thing you think of
when I say the story of cancer?
- The struggle, the struggle of understanding.
- Waiting.
- Disappointment.
- Anger.
- A long road.
- Looking for some hope.
- A steep incline.
- Discovery.
(light ambient music)
- I was literally at my desk here in the Cancer Center.
9:00 in the morning, my phone rang,
and I had a call saying, I think you have multiple myeloma.
I remember writing the words down,
as if I didn't know what multiple myeloma was,
as if I would forget what he had just told me.
- [Man] Difficult to kind of encapsulate
in a short conversation what, exactly,
it means to be given this diagnosis.
- [Man] You wake up that day, and you have that diagnosis,
and that diagnosis is with you the rest of your life.
- I think my initial fear was having the conversation
with all of my friends and loved ones,
not knowing what, exactly,
those reactions to those conversations would look like.
- Cancer has impacted my life in many, many ways.
The most significant way is it has taken my husband,
it has disrupted the lives of my brother in law,
of family, of friends,
it has caused us to think,
has caused me to think differently about life,
about what my priorities are.
I have discovered a newfound strength
because of cancer.
- Probably the first patient I ever worked with,
who had a brain tumor.
And he said to me, if we aren't in this world
to help other people, then what
in the world are we here for?
- We're able to do state-of-the-art,
practice-changing research in the laboratories,
but then translate those findings into clinical trials
that improve outcomes for patients,
and I think this cancer center
doesn't lose that translation,
doesn't lose that patient emphasis,
so that at the end of the day what's most important
is making sure that patient has a good experience,
and hopefully a good outcome.
- [Woman] World-class cancer treatment,
the innovative care, the research,
and yet, the people were so warm and so caring.
- I think what really makes the Comprehensive
Cancer Center at Wake Forest truly unique
is that balance between innovation,
technical advances, research advances,
as well as a dedication to having compassionate care
for every patient that we see.
- I believe that the research I'm doing
can enable clinicians to better treat patients,
to better understand how to personalize
therapy for that patient.
- It's important to always be asking the question,
what can we do better?
How can we better treat this cancer?
How can we better take care of you?
How can we better take care of your family?
- I don't just want to practice
the standard surgery and standard of care,
but through research and teaching,
I want to see if we can get better.
I wanna see if we can improve.
- I think people who are dealing with cancer
need to feel confident that they're receiving
not only world-class, innovative,
research-based, cutting edge medical care,
but that it's done with kindness and compassion,
and that everyone on the team cares how we're doing.
That perfect balance at Wake Forest.
- Our Comprehensive Cancer Center
is ranked number one in North Carolina
by US News and World Report,
number 12 amongst cancer hospitals in the nation.
- [Interviewer] What first comes to mind
when I say the future or cancer?
- More rapid understanding today.
- I think compassion.
- Next generation treatment.
- I think of nurses here, doctors here also.
- A willingness to continue to try.
- Risk takers.
- New possibilities.
- Determination, perseverence.
- Compassion, humanity.
(light ambient music)