Real Stories

Science has a face. It has a name. It has a story.

Numbers measure impact. Stories make it visible. Meet the people behind the research funded by FERO Cancer.

Translational research doesn’t happen on its own. It’s carried out by researchers who have chosen to dedicate their careers to solving one of medicine’s most complex problems. It’s funded by people who believe science can conquer cancer. And it reaches patients who need it to happen sooner.

Two researchers working together with pipettes and samples in a laboratory.

FERO Researchers

The researchers supported by FERO Cancer.

Over 60 fellows. More than 1,000 researchers in the FERO Scientific Community. A network that today leads Spanish oncology.

Researcher wearing a mask using a microscope in a laboratory

Receiving a FERO grant is a recognition of excellence in the Spanish scientific community. It opens doors to other funding sources. It places the researcher in an international reference network. And it allows them to dedicate the most crucial years of their career to research, without having to take on care commitments that would hinder it.

Researchers who have received support from FERO Cancer now hold leadership positions in the best oncology centers in Spain and worldwide. They are the best indicator of the impact of investing in young talent.

The FERO Academy — with the annual FERO Scientific Retreat, FERO Webinars, and the alumni network — keeps this scientific community alive beyond the grant.

Patient Stories

Research reaches people. Here are some of them.

The goal of translational research is not to publish papers. It is for patients to gain earlier access to more effective treatments. These are some of their stories.

Each FERO Molecular Diagnostics Unit serves thousands of patients annually. For many of them, the molecular diagnosis offered by the unit has made the difference between a standard treatment and one specifically designed for their tumor’s profile.

Precision medicine is not a promise of the future. It is a reality that FERO Cancer funds today, in four of the best oncology centers in Spain.

Real Stories

I have overcome colon cancer, I am currently “navigating” my second cancer—in this case, of the urinary tract with metastasis—and I could potentially have a third, stomach cancer. Have you ever wondered who, in my case, has saved my life twice? I thought it was the doctors or the oncologists, until I learned that behind them there are professionals I knew nothing about. Thanks to their silent work, they are the ones who give us hope to enjoy the years we have left more fully and in better health. Thank you, researchers, for continuing to do the work you do. In case you did not know: I want to live for many years.

Carlos Pursals

Lynch Syndrome Patient

Cancer patients need time and hope, and supporting research today means making tomorrow’s treatments possible.

Rosa Olmos

Metastatic breast cancer patient

Supporting cancer research is the only way to achieve the objective that Dr. Baselga once established for the FERO Foundation: that cancer does not lead to mortality. Thanks to advances in research, I was able to survive HER2-positive cancer. Eight years prior, 95% of patients died. Now, 95% survive.

Amelia Medina

Patient of Dr. Baselga

Testimonials

What those who are part of FERO Cancer say.

The goal of translational research is not to publish papers. It is for patients to gain earlier access to more effective treatments. These are some of their stories.

“The FERO grant is the anchor that keeps you from being swept away when you’re starting out. It allowed me to dedicate myself to the science that matters at the most critical moment of my career.”

Dr. Héctor García Palmer

Oncology Researcher
VHIO — Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology · Barcelona FERO Grant 2022

“The translational research funded by FERO Cancer has allowed our institute to maintain lines of work that otherwise would not have been sustainable. The impact on patients is direct and measurable.”

Dr. Josep Tabernero

Director VHIO
Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology · Barcelona FERO Cancer Scientific Committee

Dr. Héctor García Palmer

Oncology Researcher
VHIO — Vall d'Hebron Institute of Oncology · Barcelona FERO Grant 2022