The Cheerful Oncologist proposes “four freedoms of cancer patients“, modeled after Franklin Roosevelt’s four freedoms. Roosevelt articulated his four freedoms during World War II (although before the United States entered the war). If we adopt the war metaphor – The War on Cancer – the freedoms have all the more resonance. Cheerful Oncologist’s freedoms are freedom from prejudice, ignorance, insensitivity, and abandonment. Cancer is a tough disease and has a high mortality rate. The least we can do is to allow cancer patients freedom from these additional burdens.