Thursday, February 10, 2011

CANCER, the least specific term in the universe

This is a point I make often, and for those that know me, I apologize for the broken record routine. CANCER CANNOT BE CURED! There, I said it. Now let me explain what I mean.

Cancer is not some big black nebulous thing with a magic bullet lurking around the corner. It is basically an adjective that you use to describe something that's gone wrong with your body. Your brain doesn't work? Brain cancer. Having trouble breathing? Lung cancer. This is not helpful for the scientific or medical community. These hundreds of ailments generally described as CANCER have very little to do with one another. Usually. And therefore, there is no cure for CANCER, as such. What we need to do is figure out which cancers are similar to one another. We need to find connections, patterns, make these things more specific. If I never heard the word cancer again, I would be really pleased.

Since that is probably not going to happen, I will say that cancer research, specifically research with a genomic approach, is going to make great strides in classifying "cancers" in the future. A genomic approach means that you look at all the genes over many different types of cancers. Think casting a huge net into a lake and pulling it up versus trying to use a very specific type of bait to catch a very specific type of fish. This is the type of research that is going to help cure the most diseases in the long run. It is also the type of research that drug companies avoid like the plague. That means, ladies and gentlemen, if you want a cure for cancer, don't run/walk/swim and give to private organizations. Support science in schools. Support the NIH and the NSF. Pay your taxes. Give scientists at universities and hospitals the money and resources they need to do this work. A "cure" is going to take a lot of work and a lot of time. Fortunately, I think that we have the capacity to make great strides towards this.

PS: Lung cancer is a bitch. In memory of Nancy Majewski, who loved everyone around her so much and gave all she had to her family and friends. Your battle was short and fierce, and I hope we can improve the odds for those in your situation in the future. You were loved and will be missed.

Wednesday, February 9, 2011

Yearly renewal...

I have this conversation over and over again, more and more it seems, and it usually starts with me proclaiming ignorance in regards to blogs. "I don't get why it's so important!" I'll proclaim, or maybe use the ol' "My parents read the newspaper and don't get blogs, therefore they are irrelevant for everyone!" excuse, but in reality, it seems like everyone these days has a blog. Even me! Heck, I started this blog a long time ago, but it was more as an experiment to improve my writing than anything else. As I've read others' blogs, I'm beginning to realize that maybe my philosophy towards them was not quite right. I thoroughly enjoy reading the thoughts and ideas of my peers, but the content doesn't have to be lengthy expositions. Simple recipes, a great song, a discussion of a NYT article, a joke: these make compelling entries for a compelling blog (or blob, as some call it). So here I am, trying once again to maintain my internet presence for the masses. I hope to try to use this more, make shorter and more interesting entries, so that it becomes a blob I can be proud of. Here's to February resolutions...