5 Quotes by Azra Raza

Treating cancer as one disease is like treating Africa as one country.

The vast majority of researchers are studying diseases they never see, in animals who don’t get them spontaneously, or in test tubes where the “cancer” must be artificially created and maintained.

I cannot stress this enough times; scientists need to stop making more and more artificial mouse models and tissue culture cell lines for cancer drug development. These resources can and should be invested in better pursuits. No one, however, willingly surrenders their pet projects, no matter how far they have drifted from the original intent, as long as they can maintain their grip on grants and power.

We should not be aiming for weeks of improved survival. Our goals should be higher. The public needs to see how far we have drifted from the original aims as oncologists and researchers and at what cost to the patient.

There is one and only one goal for all of us—to ensure that all our intellectual efforts are directed toward the relief of humanity’s suffering.