There is a duality in recognising what an incredible disease it is - in terms of its origin, that it emerges out of a normal cell. It's a reminder of what a wonderful thing a normal cell is. In a very cold, scientific sense, I think a cancer cell is a kind of biological marvel.

I had seen cancer at a more cellular level as a researcher. The first time I entered the cancer ward, my first instinct was to withdraw from what was going on - the complexity, the death. It was a very bleak time.

When you immerse yourself in medicine you realise that hope is not absolute. It's not that simple.

All cancers are alike but they are alike in a unique way.

A breast cancer might turn out to have a close resemblance to a gastric cancer. And this kind of reorganization of cancer in terms of its internal genetic anatomy has really changed the way we treat and approach cancer in general.

It is hard to look at the tumor and not come away with the feeling that one has encountered a powerful monster in its infancy

Most discoveries even today are a combination of serendipity and of searching.