| There has been a "war on cancer" for over five | | | | car or other cars around it. Oh, and remember that |
| decades now, and it seems little has changed, and | | | | you must be able to do this from 100 miles away. |
| more and more people are diagnosed with cancer and | | | | The research conducted has given us tremendous |
| die from cancer each day. Actually we have made | | | | insight into the molecular function of the cell, and |
| great advances our understanding of the disease and | | | | chemical pathways which are damaged in a |
| in diagnosis and treatment. | | | | cancerous cell. We have demonstrated how cancer |
| Unfortunately, the complexity of the problem seems to | | | | cells can be inactivated or turned back to normal by |
| grow with our understanding. Consider this; Cancer is | | | | changing these chemical pathways. Here is the "Holy |
| over one hundred diseases, which are all different but | | | | Grail" - just repair the damage that causes a cell to |
| all the same. Saying a disease is a cancer is like calling | | | | behave wrong, and cure the cancer. Fix the scratch |
| a vehicle an automobile. All cars have four tires, | | | | on the CD, from 100 yards away, so to speak. We |
| windshield wipers and a steering wheel, etc., but a dune | | | | have used this new knowledge to establish the basis |
| buggy has very different parts than a Volvo. Likewise, | | | | for a host of new drugs and the timing of treatments. |
| breast cancer is different from prostate cancer, and | | | | In some cases the results have been very |
| colon cancer is different from lung cancer. Thus their | | | | encouraging, and in others, we have learned how |
| symptoms of presentation, patterns of spread, and | | | | rapidly nature adapts and finds ways around our |
| treatment are different. It is unlikely there will be one | | | | chemical roadblocks. |
| simple solution for all these different diseases we call | | | | While we continue to apply these new tools to treat |
| cancer. | | | | cancer, we should keep in mind that the best way to |
| Consider what we are trying to accomplish when we | | | | approach this problem is probably not to become a |
| try to analyze all the different kinds of cancer. You are | | | | cancer patient in the fist place. Don't get a scratch on |
| looking through a telescope at the parking garage at | | | | your CD. Does that sound too easy? Well for some |
| Yankee Stadium, 100 miles away. There are two | | | | cancers like brain tumors, breast cancer and prostate |
| identical looking red cars. From your vantage point, you | | | | cancer it is not that simple because we don't know the |
| have to tell what kind of cars they are, and what kind | | | | cause of these cancers. But for others, it is and we |
| of engines the cars have. And you have to be able to | | | | do. We know that 40% of all cancers are related to |
| look deeper, what color is the interior, and what type | | | | lifestyle choices such as smoking, exercise, diet, sun |
| of sound system does it have? | | | | exposure and personal habits. |
| Now look at the CD player and see there is a Billy Joel | | | | That means theoretically over 400,000 cases of |
| Album, maybe Piano Man. Is it playing? What track is it | | | | cancer per year could be avoided with our individual |
| on? Look at the third track and the 405th note in that | | | | effort to live differently. That is a huge number of |
| track, there is a scratch altering the machines ability to | | | | people. All it takes is a bit of effort on our part. So, let's |
| render the song and changing the melody to a | | | | get started, what are you doing tomorrow? Would you |
| repetitive cacophony. Now fix the scratch and change | | | | to take a 30 minute walk with me? |
| the disc back to normal, without hurting anything in the | | | | |