Dr. Adamo’s Personal Statement
My passion for oncology started as a young child; five years old, to be exact. I recall standing in my parent’s bedroom one Sunday morning asking my mother where my father was. He had been gone from home for a couple of days, which was very unusual. Even more unusual, was the fact that it was Sunday and he wasn’t home getting ready to go to church. My family went to church every Sunday morning without fail. This particular day, however, my mom hadn’t gotten me up early or gotten me dressed, so I knew something was wrong. I remember hounding my mother for an answer but she wouldn’t say a word. My constant and obnoxious five-year-old persistence must have eventually worn her down. She finally told me my father was in the hospital so that the doctors there could run some tests on him.
Later that week, my grandparents brought me up to the hospital to see my dad. I remember he was sitting up in bed looking really frail. It was the first time I had ever seen him not look like the strong and protective man I had known him to be. I remember standing in that hospital room, not too far from the door, scared by the truth… something really was wrong! Later my grandparents told me my father had cancer.
No one talked about my father’s treatment or prognosis; I just remember seeing him really ill. Fortunately, he survived his disease. To this day, my family still does not talk about my father’s history of cancer. I’ve tried a number of times to ask questions and probe for details, but no one will share information. My theory regarding their reluctance is that cancer is a scary thing. My family was frightened by the treatment and of the possible outcome. Talking about it brings up their past fear, sadness, worry, and pain all over again.
For years, I had unknowingly repressed my own feelings about my father’s disease and what I had witnessed. It didn’t come up again until I was in medical school interning at San Diego Hospice. That internship gave me the opportunity to acknowledge and address my own fear, sadness, worry, and pain that still needed to be healed. During this time, I developed a strong sense of connection to my patients, particularly to those, and to the families of those, with a cancer diagnosis.
Because of my past experience, I am passionate about the work I do. It gives me great pleasure to improve the quality of my patients’ lives and support them while they are going through treatment. It also brings me joy to improve my patients’ overall health, knowing that a stronger and healthier body means a better outcome. I am blessed to be a part of each of my patient’s journey.
