Thank you, Taylor for continuing to fight for this cause and for tweeting the link to this story. I love you so much.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/isabel-song/taylor-swift-ronan_b_3926485.html
This is truly a beautiful thing. Thank you, Isabel. I am honored, humbled and so very inspired.
angels, anger, arizona, AZ, best friends, bullshit, Cancer, Chemotherapy, childhood cancer, Childhood Disease, Conditions and Diseases, doctors, dreams, Energy, F U Cancer, faith, Family, friends, friendship, happiness, Health, honesty, Huffington Post, I heart the youth of today, Isabel I love you, maya thompson, Music is life, Neuroblastoma, new york city, pediatric oncology, Ronan, Taylor Swift, The Ronan Thompson Foundation, true love
15 responses to “This is truly a beautiful thing. Thank you, Isabel. I am honored, humbled and so very inspired.”
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This kid reminds me of myself when I was in high school: Naive, optimistic, wanting to make a positive difference in the world. In college I studied science and got involved in a molecular bio lab to study Huntington’s disease, hoping to one day work in medicine or research and help people with illnesses. Then I got hit by a reality check: the world of medicine exists only to make a profit. This was made painfully clear by the administration and staff in the major NYC hospital I worked in for years. Most of my peers in college were pre-med/dental students; they would constantly speak of the high salaries they desired, never of helping people. I went from wanting to be an oncologist to realizing that injecting people with toxic drugs that ravaged their bodies, simply so that pharmaceutical companies can profit off of them, is the worse thing to do. In some other countries cancer is a very rare diagnosis and when it surfaces it’s treated low-cost and naturally with higher success rates. This is why last year I turned down an acceptance to Johns Hopkins med school, one of the best in the world. I could not honestly say I would have done any good.
People will continue to get cancer because that’s what our government and pharmaceutical industries profit off of. And naive kids like Isabel will continue to put their hopes in an industry that doesn’t care for them while foolishly believing they’re doing more good than harm. Most people are blind and bury their heads in the sand because they don’t want to believe the truth – I’ve been there, I’ve seen it.
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Have you read this article? It’s truly inspiring…one man who had a dream and built a team to try and go around the fact that the big institutes wouldn’t fund his proposals since they were too “radical”…so he went to the people directly to bring his ideas to life. I hope Isabel Song can make her dreams into a reality, and perhaps become an inspiration and a revolutionary such as Dr. Olson.
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And then, of course, I forget to link the article…duh! http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/09/13/221043643/treating-kids-cancer-with-science-and-a-pocket-full-of-hope
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Inspiring article, thank you for sharing. Always nice to see caring and concerned physicians like Dr. Olson and Dr. Giselle Scholler. We need more of them in the world, maybe then the industry would be less corrupt, maybe more people could get access to health care.
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Just because some people feel like a lot of the medical world only cares about their salaries doesn’t mean there aren’t people who feel otherwise and care about their patients. That doesn’t mean I can’t still go in and do what I want to do despite why others may be in the field. I can’t turn my back on these children just because some say the industry cares more about turning a profit. So what if other people believe that? So what if a lot of people in the medical field are like that? I’M NOT, and there are a lot of people out there who aren’t, too. Besides, if you put it like that, aren’t all industries that way, anyways, and aren’t many even more profit-oriented than the medical world?
I know that today’s cancer treatments often hurt people along with cancer- that’s exactly why I said I want to develop better, more effective cancer treatments. I’m not “foolish” enough to believe that cancer treatments don’t hurt the children themselves. I’ve read to many stories about children who have physical ailments and other life-long consequences as a result of their treatment to believe that these treatments are 100% perfect. We need people who want to make treatments that are safer for patients and does them more good than harm. I want to be there when that happens, and more than that, I need to make it happen myself.
I know I’m naive and optimistic, but I’d rather be that and believe that I can make a difference than be cynical and not try at all. That’s the worst thing I could do, in my opinion. Believing, dreaming, hoping- those are all the first steps towards reaching goals and making change. There’s no way I’m going to let cynics deter me from my path just because they’ve forgotten how to dream and just because they’ve long forgotten the beauty of making positive change. Being naive and optimistic enough to dream and believe I can one day make a difference- to me, this is a gift within itself.
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Isabel – I’m not discouraging you. Speaking the truth is not cynical. Like I said, you remind me of my younger self – your article was very similar to my college essay, except instead of being inspired by Ronan I was inspired by a girl in my community who passed away from Ovarian Carcinoma.
As you grow up you will realize the world is not rainbows and unicorns. If you successfully become an oncologist you will murder people – no, I won’t sugarcoat it – so that the pharm companies that control hospitals and out gov’t can profit off of it. You see the toxic drugs you will administer (they kill more people than they save) are a billion-dollar industry. If that is an outcome you’re ok with – yes, you will be well-compensated, albeit a pawn in the game – I wish you the best of luck. I pray to God things change in the near future for the sake of our country. Until then I’ll stay the hell away from the horrors of oncology – it’s not just Cancer killing people you know.
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@Isabel I saw the comment you wrote in the Huffington Post where you talked about ‘critics’ and quoted my words. If you think I’m a critic, you must be pretty sheltered. I wish you nothing but the best. But please don’t take my word for it. Read this article written by an Oncologist who has been treated cancer for decades: http://www.henrymakow.com/by_geraldine_philips_henrymako.html
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i really tihnk isabel can read my mind. im only 13 and before this i didnt know what pedriatic oncology meant but that is what i wanted to do. I know that creating awareness helps but if there is no research then awareness is pointless and i realized this only a few months ago and that is when i set my goal. i want to become a pedriatic oncologist.
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Good for you! Hold onto that dream, and don’t let anybody take that dream away from you.
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This is so incredible…. and a testament to how important it is/has been for you to share your love story with us. Though every day still brings tears, keep trucking Mama, your work is so important… and we are all holding you up in our hears. Love love love.
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I’m 36 years old and was a first time college student when I saw Taylor on stand up to cancer singing “Ronan.” That inspired me to double major in child psychology and social work so that I can become a child life specialist at St. Jude.
Isabel, I don’t know how old you are sweet girl, but never lose your optimism and hope. I’m 36 years old and I still have it and I never want that to change!
Chase your dreams Isabel! Never give up. WE can and WE will make a difference. ❤
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Go Isabel go!! Keri and Samhita too! Someone will discover a cure for cancer – why not you? Thank you Maya and Ronan. I so wish that no parent had to live in this world without their child/children.
FU CANCER!!!
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Isabel, there is a quote that says, “People who say it cannot be done should not interrupt the person getting it done.” You are young and there will always be naysayers and cynics, but all great leaders had their own doubters and cynics, yet they still held onto their belief in themselves and their causes and that is part of what made them great leaders. You should consider yourself lucky. Most people never find their real purpose in life and you’ve done it at an incredibly young age. I wish you the absolute best in your endeavors and hope one day to read all about the good works you’ve accomplished in Ronan’s memory and in honor of all children who have to battle childhood cancers.
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Isabel I cannot describe how perfectly you described the determination to force the change. I am in nursing school and have been met with many “looks” when I say pediatric oncology is my goal…people don’t get it and sometimes that is okay because it really just means you have to convince them and get them to get it. What I cannot stand is those who would rather us not do it just because it is too sad….it being too sad is not an excuse….the people going through it did not choose that life, they did not choose for their story to become one of the “sad” ones and as such it is a shame that people try to justify choosing to look the other way without even appreciating the fact that they have a choice in the first place.
Never give up on your dream even if it gets hard you’ve got a whole bunch of people behind you supporting you and a bunch of medical professionals just waiting for the chance to fight back with you.
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February 20th, 2014.Mason Alexander Short die from Leukemia. He was only 14months old when he die. He fought for a week then passed away.😥😰
ROCKSTAR RONAN 
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