Healing with culture, care and compassion

Hong Kong-born oncologist and hematologist Jeremy K Hon says that Chinese culture has had a lasting influence on him, and that he has a deep appreciation of Chinese literature, despite having spent half of his life in the United States.

He has particular respect for Confucius and Mencius, two ancient Chinese philosophers, and also enjoys reading historical literature, essays and poetry such as Three Hundred Poems of the Tang Dynasty, a compilation that dates to the 7th to the 10th centuries and which contains verses written by a number of different poets. "The language is very powerful," he says.

The cofounder of the Clearview Cancer Institute in Huntsville, Alabama, says that values are the most valuable part of Chinese culture, and they have helped him overcome the challenges of living and studying abroad, developing his career, and setting up his institute.

"I had the saying by Mencius, 'Born in adversity, die in comfort', sitting on the front of my desk in the lab, and in the dormitory," says Hon, 74. "So whenever I returned after a hard day of work or study, or encountered any difficulty, I would read it a couple of times. It gave me strength, as I would think 'I'm suffering now, but maybe someday I will be a great man'."

With over four decades in medicine, Hon has saved many lives. He says simply that this was his life's mission, and he is glad he was able to give back to the community, and have a positive impact.