With Veronesi's death, Italian cancer research finds itself orphaned, deprived of a lighthouse that has guided it for a long time. But it's not just medical research that is losing a father. Umberto Veronesi has always fought against racism, against war and hunger in the world. Civil rights and medicine have merged into a single entity thanks to the revolutionary work of this man. And this is how great debates were born in Italy such as those on euthanasia, living wills or the use of stem cells, but also on gay unions or the custody of children to people of the same sex.
Veronesi, a layman who did not fear death
Religion was born to answer the great questions of existence and to make the idea of death bearable. Veronesi was a layman, but he always maintained that he did not fear the end of life. “No, death doesn't scare me. When I was a soldier I jumped on a mine and in spite of all the statistics, I survived. I spent months in the hospital, underwent several surgeries but in the end I survived and also in good health. This changed my life, because since that moment every day lived has been a day stolen from what seemed an inevitable destiny. This experience gave me strength, optimism, serenity and above all an absolute lack of fear of death. "
"I believe in freedom, justice, solidarity and tolerance"
This was Veronesi's creed, his religion. Throughout his life, this researcher struggled with applying scientific reasoning to support his thesis. In his will left to young doctors, Veronesi encourages the new generation to be dubious and transgressive. The meaning is to get out of common and standardized thinking, to reason with one's own head.
Veronesi left his legacy to the whole world
Veronesi's legacy therefore goes far beyond the very important medical innovations that have led Italy to be a world reference point for the fight against cancer. What he left us is an idea of progress to strive for. The important thing is not how impossible an idea may seem, but what you do to try to make it happen. The best way to greet Umberto Veronesi is therefore not to write many words to enhance his figure while alive, but to continue his struggle. Instead of a funeral there should be a major civil rights demonstration around the world. This is the only way to respect his memory and make him truly immortal.
“After death we will no longer be anything, but our ideas will remain”. Umberto Veronesi
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