--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I will forever be grateful to my…" description: "\"I will forever be grateful to my oncologist for opening the door and saying, 'Damn it, the tumor's 10 percent bigger,' before he even said hello.\" — Da..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/david-rakoff-3308_be-grateful_i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncolog_240723.png" --- # I will forever be grateful to my oncologist for opening… ![“I will forever be grateful to my oncologist for opening the door and saying, 'Damn it, the tumor's 10 percent bigger,' before he even said hello.” quote by David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/david-rakoff-3308_be-grateful_i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncolog_240723.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/david-rakoff-3308_be-grateful_i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncolog_240723.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/david-rakoff-3308_be-grateful_i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncolog_240723.png) > “I will forever be grateful to my oncologist for opening the door and saying, 'Damn it, the tumor's 10 percent bigger,' before he even said hello.” [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Gratitude for a brutally honest diagnosis that sparked urgency and appreciation for life’s fragility. **In simple terms:** Honest news can motivate deeper gratitude and action. Key Takeaway Find purpose in adversity. Themes gratitude mortality honesty resilience medical truth Mood reflective inspirational serious Type personal health motivational When to use this quote - doctor-patient conversations - cancer treatment decisions - personal health reflections - support group discussions - writing therapeutic narratives Key Concepts psychology healthcare communication personal growth acceptance motivation Questions to Reflect On - How does confronting mortality change priorities? - What role does honesty play in healing? A Different Perspective May not apply to non‑cancer contexts; tone can be stark. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Grateful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/grateful/) ## Related quotes > [I'm sure it really is hard to be an oncologist, and actually, more and more people are surviving cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-wallace/i-m-sure-it-really-is-hard-to-be-an-oncologist-and-actually-more-and/) [Marcia Wallace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-wallace/) > [What does it mean to be an oncologist? It means that you get to sit in at a moment of another person's life that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/siddhartha-mukherjee/what-does-it-mean-to-be-an-oncologist-it-means-that-you-get-to-sit-in/) [Siddhartha Mukherjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/siddhartha-mukherjee/) > [“Although the oncologist was a prominent expert in his field, Burton remembers him “mainly for what he taught me about uncritical acceptance of believing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-m-grant/although-the-oncologist-was-a-prominent-expert-in-his-field-burton/) [Adam M. Grant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-m-grant/) > [I had a tumor. But it was great.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-had-a-tumor-but-it-was-great/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [If you sequence a cancerous tumor, you should be able to tailor the therapy according to the root cause of the cancer. But it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-topol/if-you-sequence-a-cancerous-tumor-you-should-be-able-to-tailor-the/) [Eric Topol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-topol/) > [If you want to really understand about a tumor, you've got be be a tumor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/june-goodfield/if-you-want-to-really-understand-about-a-tumor-you-ve-got-be-be-a/) [June Goodfield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/june-goodfield/) > [“Dying from an aggressive fatal brain tumor is like dying from Alzheimer's disease accelerated one hundred times.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/dying-from-an-aggressive-fatal-brain-tumor-is-like-dying-from/) [Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/) > [Youre a walking tumor. Actually, its a big deal when you spot a tumor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jeff-ross/youre-a-walking-tumor-actually-its-a-big-deal-when-you-spot-a-tumor/) [Jeff Ross](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jeff-ross/) > [Cancer will be with me for the rest of my life, be it as a nodule, tumor or cell someplace, or in my fears…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathryn-joosten/cancer-will-be-with-me-for-the-rest-of-my-life-be-it-as-a-nodule/) [Kathryn Joosten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathryn-joosten/) > [A tumor often grows silently and doesn't start making itself known until it's pushing on structures or organs or tissues around it in a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/caterina-scorsone/a-tumor-often-grows-silently-and-doesn-t-start-making-itself-known/) [Caterina Scorsone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/caterina-scorsone/) > [I really loved animals when I was little - my friend and I had an imaginary vet's office; we would mime doing surgery on…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hannah-murray/i-really-loved-animals-when-i-was-little-my-friend-and-i-had-an/) [Hannah Murray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hannah-murray/) > [You shouldn't read so much, you'll get a brain tumor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/you-shouldn-t-read-so-much-you-ll-get-a-brain-tumor/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I'd rather get a brain tumor than go back to teaching.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jim-harrison/i-d-rather-get-a-brain-tumor-than-go-back-to-teaching/) [Jim Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jim-harrison/) > [I don't want to be brain tumor girl. I don't want this to be my thing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-giertz/i-don-t-want-to-be-brain-tumor-girl-i-don-t-want-this-to-be-my-thing/) [Simone Giertz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-giertz/) > [Too often you see someone fall, break a rib, go in to the doctor and discover a tumor.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-holmes/too-often-you-see-someone-fall-break-a-rib-go-in-to-the-doctor-and/) [Elizabeth Holmes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-holmes/) ## More by David Rakoff > [“The hiking boots the outdoor adventure magazine sent me to buy - large, ungainly potato like things that I have been trying to break…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/the-hiking-boots-the-outdoor-adventure-magazine-sent-me-to-buy-large/) [david rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [Is there some lesson on how to be friends? 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I think what it means is that central to living A life that is good…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/is-there-some-lesson-on-how-to-be-friends-i-think-what-it-means-is-2/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“The central drama of my life is about being a fraud, alas. That's a complete lie, really; the central drama of my life is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/the-central-drama-of-my-life-is-about-being-a-fraud-alas-that-s-a/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [I am going to the bad place, as is my wont.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-am-going-to-the-bad-place-as-is-my-wont/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [The only thing that makes one an artist is making art. 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Just like being happy and sad, you will find yourself on both sides of the equation many times…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/people-are-really-trying-their-best-just-like-being-happy-and-sad-you/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“One day reach idealization; after all, it's the journey, not the destination.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/one-day-reach-idealization-after-all-it-s-the-journey-not-the/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“It was turning out to be an anxious Christmas season. Too many were the early mornings spent sitting at the table, insomniac in the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/it-was-turning-out-to-be-an-anxious-christmas-season-too-many-were/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“The best=laid plans, one's most fastidious contingency strategies have revealed themselves in the cold light of day to be laughably inadequate, no match for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/the-best-laid-plans-one-s-most-fastidious-contingency-strategies-have/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [Unfortunately, there's no greater rhyme or reason as to why it would be me. And since there is no answer as to why me,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/unfortunately-there-s-no-greater-rhyme-or-reason-as-to-why-it-would/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) > [“But even this gives rise to another central tenet, attendant to the Comedy Is Good myth: Comedy Is Hard. Certainly well-rendered comedy is hard.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/but-even-this-gives-rise-to-another-central-tenet-attendant-to-the/) [David Rakoff](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) [Explore all 134 David Rakoff quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/) ## More Be grateful quotes > [Don't be bitter. Everybody suffers. If you can accept your suffering then you will understand other people better. Be grateful for pain. Love life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-colbert/don-t-be-bitter-everybody-suffers-if-you-can-accept-your-suffering/) [Stephen Colbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-colbert/) > [Man has an almost infinite capacity for taking things and people for granted and thereby missing out on the pleasure of being grateful that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aldous-huxley/man-has-an-almost-infinite-capacity-for-taking-things-and-people-for/) [Aldous Huxley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aldous-huxley/) > [Kenny G, I have to be grateful to him for proving that the instrument can be played all different kinds of ways.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steve-lacy/kenny-g-i-have-to-be-grateful-to-him-for-proving-that-the-instrument/) [Steve Lacy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steve-lacy/) > [Often I'm told I'm an inspiration to people which I will forever be grateful for. But the reality is that I'm only able to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lizzie-velasquez/often-i-m-told-i-m-an-inspiration-to-people-which-i-will-forever-be/) [Lizzie Velasquez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lizzie-velasquez/) > [Focus on being grateful for what you have already .. enjoy it!! Then release into the universe. The universe will manifest it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rhonda-byrne/focus-on-being-grateful-for-what-you-have-already-enjoy-it-then/) [Rhonda Byrne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rhonda-byrne/) > [The Americans say that we are ungrateful-but I ask them for heaven's sake, what should we be grateful to them for-for murdering our fathers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-walker/the-americans-say-that-we-are-ungrateful-but-i-ask-them-for-heaven-s/) [David Walker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-walker/) > [My first encounter with yoga was in 1969 with my older brother Doug. I was thirteen years old, and he was eighteen. He'd learned…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-f-swensen/my-first-encounter-with-yoga-was-in-1969-with-my-older-brother-doug-i/) [David F. Swensen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-f-swensen/) > [Just remember: to be grateful and thank the people who are there and support you along the way is a great start to success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/meryl-davis/just-remember-to-be-grateful-and-thank-the-people-who-are-there-and/) [Meryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/meryl-davis/) > [Be calm, be strong, be grateful, and become a lamp full of light, that the darkness of sorrows be annihilated, and that the sun…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/abdu-l-bah/be-calm-be-strong-be-grateful-and-become-a-lamp-full-of-light-that/) [Abdu'l-Bahá](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/abdu-l-bah/) > [Enjoy your own life without comparing it with that of another for there will always be others whose lives on the face of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nicolas-de-caritat-marquis-de-condorcet/enjoy-your-own-life-without-comparing-it-with-that-of-another-for/) [Nicolas de Caritat, marquis de Condorcet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nicolas-de-caritat-marquis-de-condorcet/) > [Speak what I have to be grateful for when I get up and when I lie down to sleep. Meditation and prayer. I pray…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/regina-taylor/speak-what-i-have-to-be-grateful-for-when-i-get-up-and-when-i-lie/) [Regina Taylor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/regina-taylor/) > [Be grateful for the love you have to share-share it, and it will return to you ten times over.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-van-praagh/be-grateful-for-the-love-you-have-to-share-share-it-and-it-will/) [James Van Praagh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-van-praagh/) > [There are those who say that trees shade the garden too much, and interfere with the growth of the vegetables. There may be something…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charles-dudley-warner/there-are-those-who-say-that-trees-shade-the-garden-too-much-and/) [Charles Dudley Warner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charles-dudley-warner/) > [Kids aint supposed to be grateful! They're supposed to eat your food, break your heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-kripke/kids-aint-supposed-to-be-grateful-they-re-supposed-to-eat-your-food/) [Eric Kripke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-kripke/) > [...Be grateful for what you have to be thankful for instead of complaining about the little things that annoy you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/be-grateful-for-what-you-have-to-be-thankful-for-instead-of/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) Browse all 602 Be grateful quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I will forever be grateful to my oncologist for opening the door and saying, 'Damn it, the tumor's 10 percent bigger,' before he even said hello.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "David Rakoff" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncologist-for-opening-the-door-and/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Be grateful" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncologist-for-opening-the-door-and/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/david-rakoff-3308_be-grateful_i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncolog_240723.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/david-rakoff-3308_be-grateful_i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncolog_240723.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/27b/david-rakoff-3308_be-grateful_i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncolog_240723.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“I will forever be grateful to my oncologist for opening the door and saying, 'Damn it, the tumor's 10…” — David Rakoff", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "David Rakoff", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-rakoff/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "I will forever be grateful to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncologist-for-opening-the-door-and/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-rakoff/i-will-forever-be-grateful-to-my-oncologist-for-opening-the-door-and/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```