[akharris]

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]

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

[akharris]

Thanks for saying that.

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

[throwaway2037]

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.

[akharris]

Thank you.

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

[sizzle]

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?

[akharris]

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

[croisillon]

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

[thrdbndndn]

I'm "outside US" and I can open the link directly. Is it blocked somewhere?

[croisillon]

i get constantly redirected to https://eu.northjersey.com/ probably because of GDPR or something

[sparklingmango]

Wow. Thank you for sharing. May his memory be a blessing to you and yours.

[akharris]

Thank you.

[phonon]

Baruch dayan emes. He seemed like an extraordinary person.

[akharris]

Thank you so much. He was.

[hasmolo]

what a guy, your dad was a great person

[akharris]

Thank you.

[ecshafer]

> 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]

Thank you.

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

[ErigmolCt]

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

[akharris]

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.

[throwaway2037]

    > 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.

[ethbr1]

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.