In 2013, the Portuguese Institute of Onchology (IPO) marked its 90th anniversary. The celebrations began on February: on the 27th had past 135 years from the birth of Doctor Fracisco Gentil, mentor of the institute which, today, is spread through three autonomous hospitals in Lisbon, Porto and Coimbra. All of its history doesn’t fit anywhere. The same way, cancer is not a single dark drawer but several of them, all different, all with its light. All of it, you learn in IPO, includes every instant in which life adapts itself to the fight. All stories are different, but the initial shock is common. Just as denial, revolt, negotiation and, at last, acceptance - stages without deadlines or the certainty that every patient will with them. It was like that years ago, and its just as that today, even for those who know about this work. IPO is not a place for happy or unhappy stories. It is a place for life stories, all of them meaningful.
