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Scientist lauded for volunteer work in fight against cancer

Taiwan-raised biochemist Joyce Shen (沈悅), who has been battling breast cancer for more than a decade, received the Chou Ta-kuan Foundation's 11th Fervent Global Love of Lives Award at a ceremony on Tuesday night.

"One cannot control the length of one's life, but one can broaden the scope" of it, Shen said after accepting her award.

Born in China, Shen grew up in Hong Kong and Taiwan. After graduating from National Taiwan University, she moved to California in 1965 to pursue further studies in biochemistry at Caltech. She later married and had three children.

After being diagnosed and treated for breast cancer in 1996, Shen became a volunteer with the American Cancer Society in northern California and was later elected president of its Northern California Chinese unit.

Following a recurrence of her breast cancer in 2005, Shen remains active in the Reach to Recovery program, assisting and supporting new breast cancer patients and working to raise cancer awareness among Chinese communities in the US and abroad.

Shen also has a strong interest in the arts and has written a number of plays, several of which have been performed in California and abroad.

At the award ceremony, Shen said that "some cancer patients are blindly optimistic, but letting your disease make you unhappy is also not worth it."

"The best attitude is to accept reality, actively deal with your situation and try to get the most out of life," she said.
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