Every now and then, someone asks me about the logo on my website. Why that particular image? Where did it come from?
The truth is, it took time—a lot of it. I sifted through nearly a thousand generated images, refining and reflecting, trying to capture something that wasn’t just visually appealing, but emotionally true. Something that spoke not only to who I am as a medical oncologist but to what oncology itself represents.
In oncology, we fight. We battle disease with every tool at our disposal: surgery, radiation, targeted therapy, immunotherapy, clinical trials, second opinions, multidisciplinary teams—all of it. We marshal every force of good we can find. And still, despite our best efforts, there are patients we cannot save.
There’s the young mother with metastatic breast cancer. The elderly man, dying quietly in a hospital room with no family left to call. The patient who refuses hospice, believing they can still win the fight even as their body falters. These are the realities we face. And they are as hard for us—the oncologists—as they are for the patients and families.
It is in these moments that I had to learn patience. Patience not just for the patient’s journey, but for myself as well. To know that despite our willpower, our training, and our compassion, we cannot control everything. We can only do our part, with integrity and perseverance.
The logo reflects this philosophy: a physician and a patient standing together at the edge of an unfinished bridge, staring across a river. The bridge isn’t whole. It’s barely begun. But they are there—side by side—ready to take the next step.
Being an oncologist isn’t about being a savior. It’s about being a servant. It’s about building the bridge, stone by stone, even when the water washes some of the stones away. We do not control the river. We do not command the outcome. We serve the moment.
We guide. We educate. We listen. We prepare. We hope. We plan for the best—even in the most daunting situations, even if there is only a 1-5% chance of cure, we pursue it with all our heart. But quietly, tenderly, in the back of our minds, we prepare for the possibility of recurrence or progression. We stay honest about what is possible, and we remain steadfast in making things better wherever and whenever we can.
Sometimes that means curing. Sometimes it means controlling. Sometimes it means simply offering comfort and preserving dignity. Always, it means standing with our patients, never pretending the bridge is finished—but helping them build it, step by step, to the other side.
This is why I chose that logo.
It is a reminder to myself—and to those patients I serve—that my mission is to meet patients where they are. To build with them. To hope with them. To walk with them, no matter how turbulent the river or how uncertain the other side.
Every patient deserves a partner on their bridge-building journey. That’s what it means to me to be a medical oncologist. That is the heart of my work, and that is the heart of the logo you see.
About the author
Dr. Sajeve Thomas is a distinguished medical professional and a compassionate guide in the field of oncology. With over a decade of dedicated experience as a board-certified medical oncologist/internal medicine specialist, Dr. Thomas has become a trusted expert in the treatment of melanoma, sarcoma, and gastrointestinal conditions. He brings a wealth of expertise to the complex and challenging world of oncology.
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