In this episode of OncoInfluencers on OncoDaily TV, Dr. Shushan Hovsepyan sits down with Dr. Matti Aapro, President of the Sharing Progress in Cancer Care (SPCC) Association, Board Member at the Genolier Cancer Center, and Chairman of the Editorial Board of OncoDaily Medical Journal.
But this conversation goes beyond titles.
Dr. Aapro looks back on the encounters that shaped his life—from once dreaming of becoming an architect to finding his calling in oncology, from the mentors who influenced him to the patients he still carries with him.
“Every patient teaches something to us. Every single patient.”
He also speaks with rare openness about the personal cost of a demanding career, including the time he wishes he had spent with his children and what he is now rediscovering through his grandchildren.
Beyond his own story, Dr. Aapro reflects on a profound contradiction in modern oncology: advances in cancer care are impressive, but they are still not for everyone. Even access to simple treatments remains out of reach for too many patients.
And for the next generation, he leaves a philosophy rooted in Sisu—the Finnish spirit of determination in the face of adversity:
“You don’t give up. You fight and you win.”
A conversation about patients and progress, mentorship and family, sacrifice and resilience—and the life behind the doctor.
