Remembering Antonio Reis, MD

Remembrance  

Dear friends,  We are saddened  to learn of the untimely passing of Antonio Reis, a valued and loving member of our community during a time when Patients Against Lymphoma was not yet born or conceived.

AR (Antonio's preferred pseudonym) was and will remain an inspiration to me -- for his passion and approach to family, life, and science.  

We offer also our heart-felt condolences to his family ... to  Lurdes in particular, his devoted life-companion and partner, and to his beloved daughter, Eva.  

We know that Antonio's memory will live on through those he's touched, that AR will continue to inspire, and the world is better for his life and work. 

Karl Schwartz
Patients Against Lymphoma

If you see a hungry man do not give him a fish, rather teach him how to fish.

 The life of Antonio Reis was centered around this simple phrase. Simple because the concept seems simple but it takes a lot of hard work and determination, fortitude and guts to execute this task. There are always shortcuts and compromises that can make a task such as this easier, simpler, faster and with immediate benefits. The difficult part is to question the integrity of the quick approach and work even harder to make sure that the job is done right and thoroughly.

Antonio was this person, not this kind of person but this person. Someone we could all look up to, check our own commitment against and feel sure that we were doing things right. His life from the age of 14 when he decided to dedicate his life to cancer research to the last few days was the answer to his own question and his sense of rightness. He went to Angola during war time to pursue a medical degree through teaching. I’m sure that there are many grateful people who remember him from those days as well as the people who came to the emergency room when he was the only doctor in a small hospital, and those patients who came to his free clinic. Finally, when he received a grant to support himself he was able to devote all his time to cancer research.

He struggled with ethics and bureaucracy to do the right kind of science and research. Cancer research was his specialization and in his life and work he advanced the knowledge in this field ultimately sacrificing his all for it.

He was fair and believed in justice for all and worked and sacrificed to uphold these principles.

His friends will tell you all this and more: friends from school, work, chess club, fishing circle and fellow runners.

We here and all who would wish to be here and all who benefited and will benefit from his life and work fondly say goodbye to a man who taught us to fish.

~ Lurdes

Lurdes writes: A donation to PAL will be a wonderful way to pay tribute to Antonio.