Senbazuru, a thousand paper cranes

One of the most impactful moments of my life sciences career has been standing in the front lobby of one of my clients, a major Japanese-owned pharmaceutical company, and taking in the display of Senbazuru, a thousand origami paper cranes. It was a beautiful art display of delicate origami, all those paper cranes strung up in flight as a symbol of the efforts to find cures for cancer.

This company was an oncology company and they had developed the 1000 Cranes of Hope program to increase research, education and access to treatment for cancer patients. Senbazuru had become a symbol of this program and the mission of this company, and I was proud to be a part of this effort.

Senbazuru: the legend

The act of folding a thousand paper cranes is an old Japanese tradition. Successfully folding a thousand is said to grant the person a singular, powerful wish, like wishing for happiness and good luck in marriage, or for success in one’s ambitious pursuits, or for recovery from serious illness or injury, or maybe for world peace.

Big wishes. Wishes that take a miracle.

Sadako Sasaki’s Senbazuru

Sadako Sasaki was a Japanese girl exposed to the radiation of Hiroshima as a child. She developed leukemia at a young age and while she spent time in the hospital, she began folding paper cranes. Her goal? Fold a thousand paper cranes and wish for her cancer to be cured.

Perhaps because of Sadako’s wish and efforts, Senbazuru has become a symbol of the efforts to find cures for different types of cancer. Maybe not directly resulting in, but definitely a part of the inspiration for the display in the front lobby of my pharma client’s building all those years ago and the launch of the 1000 Cranes of Hope program.

My Senbazuru

I’ve enjoyed the art of origami since childhood. I used to fold elegant paper cranes, clever foxes, cute frogs, and more. Practicing origami is calming for me and the results bring a smile to me even in the most anxious times.

Here and now, I’m facing a personal medical challenge for which the Senbazuru is very much in my mind and in my heart. So, I’ve begun folding paper cranes.

 

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