23/08/2026
“The summer went by so fast.”
I feel like we say this every year. You look up and suddenly wonder where the time went. In the busyness of everyday life, the days just slip by.
I’ve been realizing how easy it is to be only half-present.
You’re on vacation, but half your mind is at work.
You’re working, but half your attention is on everything else you need to do.
We can’t always make life less demanding, but we can decide what deserves our attention right now.
What needs to be done today? What can wait? And what can we simply let go?
Prioritizing lets us give our full attention to what matters now—and then move on.
I think about this particularly with people facing cancer.
I remember a friend who had been looking forward to a family vacation in Hawaii.
Afterward, she told me she hadn’t been able to enjoy it as she had hoped. She kept thinking, “What if this is the last time?” There’s a cruel irony in that: the fear that this might be the last time can keep us from experiencing the time we have right now.
None of us knows how much time we have. Cancer simply makes that uncertainty harder to ignore.
Perhaps the goal isn’t to stop worrying, but to notice when our mind has gone into the future—and bring it back to today.
A few things I’m trying to practice:
1. Decide what deserves your attention now.
Do what is time-sensitive. Let the rest wait.
2. Create places where your phone doesn’t belong.
Dinner, morning coffee, a walk—even 20 minutes can help bring you back to your actual life.
3. Use your senses to come back to now.
Notice a cool breeze. The taste of your food. A laugh.
4. Protect time that is simply about living.
Especially during cancer treatment, appointments, scans, numbers, decisions, and worries need your attention—but they don’t deserve all of it.
Have lunch with someone you love. Sit outside. Laugh. Travel if you can.
You are still living your life.
When you’re working, work.
When you’re resting, rest.
Be there for this one.
Because this moment is your life, too.
If you or someone you love is facing cancer, we would be honored to help you explore personalized cancer vaccines and immune-cell therapies at Tokyo Cancer Clinic.