CancerX Story 〜上野直人編〜

CancerXメンバーがリレー方式で綴る「CancerX Story」第3回目は、CancerX共同発起人・共同代表理事の上野直人です。

わたしのCancer Story

My Cancer Story is a very long one. It first started during my medical school when I studied TNF-alpha (cytokines) impact on the HeLa cells (cervical cancer cell line). Looking back, it was a very primitive experiment. But it sure grabbed my heart at the Department of Biochemistry, Wakayama Medical College. I became fascinated with basic research, which can have a broader impact on humanity. So, I wanted to be a physician-scientist. 

However, I did not know exactly what I wanted to major clinically in my early career. During medical school, I did not commit myself to any specialty. However, after finishing my internship training at the US Naval Hospital and the University of Pittsburgh, I knew that I wanted to be an internist. And I wanted to subspecialize, but I did not want to be an organ-specific physician, such as Cardiology or Pulmonology. Therefore, I ended up committing to Cancer, which provide me with a broader care opportunity. That is why I applied for a medical oncology fellowship at MD Anderson Cancer Center. Unfortunately, I did not know anything about the MD Anderson Cancer Center when I joined. It turned out to be a well-respected comprehensive cancer center. :)

In the end, I trained at MD Anderson Cancer Center for three years. However, my curiosity for discovery research resulted in applying to The University of Texas Graduate School of Biomedical Science. Unfortunately, by the time I was granted my PhD and started as a researcher, I was diagnosed with sarcoma. My first real cancer experience was sarcoma in my left thigh. Then, I was diagnosed with MDS (preleukemia). One is enough. But twice takes a lot of energy. Fortunately, I remain alive after surgery, targeted therapy, and stem cell transplantation.

Now, I can designate myself as 3C. C stands for cancer doctor (medical oncologist), cancer researcher, and cancer survivor (patient). Proud to be profiled as 3C.

So my cancer story is pretty much my entire adult life. I would have even qualified for AYA if I was several years younger.

So, I am not quite sure if “Cancer” is a story for me. Rather it is the fate of my entire life. I can assure that I live to the fullest extent despite many challenges. I have experienced every challenge as a cancer patient. These days I have had enough of the Cancer Story. :)

CancerXに参加したきっかけ

Before creating the CancerX in 2019, Miho and I talked about a more significant impact on cancer society in Japan and at the global level for many years. We talked about creating a powerful social movement that genuinely makes people feel the passion, which truly matters to cancer patients, caregivers, and healthcare providers. We met many wonderful people (Elina, Yutan, Mac) and staff with diverse backgrounds with luck or due to an excellent curation.

The reason for committing to CancerX as a lifework is that I love to create a society that, even if you have cancer, you and I would say, “So What”? “So What,” for certain people, it can be a harsh or misunderstood word? But, if you can live to the fullest extent without thinking about cancer, I just feel that it will be a wonderful world to l live in. Basically, I do not want people to go through what I have gone through. Everything I went through was an uphill battle as an adult due to work and/or cancer. Some of the battles are getting close to death. I do not want anybody to go through this physically and mentally harsh life. That is why CancerX is important for me.

今後の展望　

I want to be always optimistic. Where there is a vision and a will, things will happen. When there is a friend and a colleague with a shared vision, something will happen. Yes, we have many challenges; the important thing is to enjoy and keep going. We have already made a massive difference by creating a CancerX platform that nobody has yet to approach. The future is bright and fun. We will need to make CancerX become synonymous with the standard terminology that depicts an actionable concept of making a major innovative breakthrough.

プロフィール

上野直人 Naoto Ueno

MDアンダーソンがんセンター 乳腺腫瘍内科教授
The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, Department of Breast Medical Oncology, Section Chief of Translational Breast Cancer Research, Executive Director orMorgan Welch Inflammatory Breast Cancer Program M.D., Ph.D., F.A.C.P.

1964年、京都府に生まれ、1989年和歌山県立医科大学卒業。
ピッツバーグ大学付属病院にて一般内科研修後、米国内科専門医取得。テキサス大学MDアンダーソンがんセンターにて、腫瘍内科医として、研修。
米国腫瘍内科専門医取得後、現在はMDアンダーソンがんセンター教授。腫瘍分子細胞学博士。
専門は、炎症性乳がん、転移性乳がん。標準的な治療方法の開発から、新しい免疫・標的治療の開発まで、がん治療の先端を担う。
がんの治療効果を最大にするために必要かつ最適とされるチーム医療（チームオンコロジー）の推進にも力を入れ、日本でも医療従事者向けの教育活動を行う（www.teamoncology.com）。
患者の主体性を高めるために「最高の医療をうけるための患者学」（講談社）、「一流患者と三流患者：医者から最高の医療を引き出す心得」（朝日新書）を書く。
Twitter: @teamoncology
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/NoMoreCancer