When Mae Dolendo was learning to be a doctor in the Philippines, she thought childhood cancer wasn’t curable. Most of her patients with cancer died. She knew she had to change the status quo. Decades later, her tireless work has saved thousands of pediatric cancer patients and helped raise the survival rate throughout the country.

Cancer has always been a personal issue to Dr. Dolendo. When she was a teenager, her mother died of breast cancer. Her family lost everything, including their home.

Now Dr. Dolendo leads the Children’s Cancer Institute at Southern Philippines Medical Center. She also opened the House of Hope right next door. It’s a place for patients and their families to stay and includes a school for the patients. And she acts as a mentor to other pediatric oncologists around the country, consulting on difficult cases over the internet.

Credits
Host: Suheir Rasul
Recorded by: Jason Latshaw
Producer: Geoffrey Redick
Editors: Grace Korzekwa Evans and Evelyn Skoda
This podcast is a production of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.