For Dr. Vijay Iyengar, the journey has come full circle.

When Iyengar was 10 years old, he was diagnosed with osteosarcoma and underwent treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering.

“Back then, the chemotherapy regimens were pretty intensive,” said Iyengar. “You were in the hospital for several months getting chemotherapy, then you had your surgery, and then you got more chemotherapy after surgery.”

While going through treatment, Iyengar’s younger brother, Jayanth, served as a source of comfort and support to him. Iyengar’s mother and little brother even moved temporarily to the East Coast to be close to him during his treatment.

During the time Iyengar was battling cancer, Make-A-Wish was in its early years. Iyengar was asked if he could wish for anything, what would it be.

He wished for a Cabbage Patch Kid to give to his brother.

“I was really worried that I wasn't going to be able to get him something special for Christmas said Iyengar.

Due to the popularity of the toy at the time, Iyengar was unsure if his wish would come to fruition. Make-A-Wish made it a reality.

“It was 1983, people were rioting over these dolls in stores, and it would have taken a miracle to get that to happen,” said Iyengar. “But lo and behold, they brought me a Cabbage Patch Kid, signed by Xavier Roberts, to wrap up and give to my brother, and that was the thing that my brother kept forever.”

Iyengar went on to beat cancer and earn his MD from Harvard Medical School after he discovered his love for biochemistry during his undergraduate years at Stanford University.

He joined Incyte in May 2016, where he serves as Executive Vice President and leads many of the company’s teams within the Global Medical Affairs, Product, and Partnership Strategy group. He has now worked within the biotech and pharmaceutical industry for over 20 years.

“We bring innovative drugs to the market for cancer and for other serious diseases,” said Iyengar.

Iyengar was able to beat cancer thanks to the doctors and medical discoveries that made it possible. When the American Society of Clinical Oncology met in Philadelphia in May of 1983, a group of doctors from Memorial Sloan Kettering presented research and clinical data that showed that there was increased survival for osteosarcoma if a specific intensive chemotherapy treatment regimen was followed.

These are the doctors that would end up saving Iyengar life.

“I got the diagnosis in July of 1983, and I went to receive treatment at Memorial Sloan Kettering with that regimen,” said Iyengar. “If I'd been diagnosed six months earlier, who knows if I would have made it.”

From cancer patient to doctor, Iyengar is doing his part to strengthen healthcare and find new, innovative treatments for the disease he survived.

“There's this view especially when you're a kid that you're in this fight against the disease,” said Iyengar.

With the support from Make-A-Wish, Iyengar found hope, strength, and the community he needed to help him overcome the odds and win his fight.

“There's suddenly a sense that you have all these allies looking out for you in this battle,” said Iyengar. “It's a very personal battle, but the fact that somebody would be willing to create this mini miracle goes a long way in making you feel like there is a community that has your back in this fight.”