A Respected Adversary and a Barbaric Monstrosity
In today's society, the word, "cancer," is uttered in hushed tones as if to insulate it from our routine conversations. We become consumed by an inferno of ferocity as we view this monster of productivity as the devil, the curse, a lethal disease, and an inevitable illness. The National Cancer Act of 1971 by President Nixon reinforces the majority standpoint by calling for a “war” on cancer; however, at the brink of discovery, it is time for us to boot this paradigm of a war, alter our view, and think intricately upon our methods of intervention.
Currently, we are using our anger and grief as a fuel to unearth a cure. We empower the rival germinating within to take us deeper into an abyss as we lose ourselves in the seething rage that the dreadful disease has caused. Yet, this prospect towards cancer is what has hindered our approach to eliminating it. While we have been engrossed in winning this “war,” our adversary has cleverly and ambitiously gained information about our proclivities to exploit our idiosyncrasies, defeating us on our own playing field. Conquering cancer requires more than reciting the deepest workings of the cell; it involves comprehending its personality, behavior, tricks, and teases that have encouraged its enormous success at complete domination.
It is not a simple task to let go of the pain, sorrow, and wrath that this satanic character has caused. Nevertheless, take a second to strip off the convoluted scientific details you know about cancer. Once you trudge over the mountain of scientific data, the clarity of the tumor's basic simplicity emerges at the summit. Taking a step above the pyramid of facts allows you to perceive patterns or principles of the consolidated way that nature works. All natural things strive for survival, whether microbes, viruses, plants, animals, or humans. Cancer, being a natural phenomenon, is endeavoring to survive in its harsh environment.
The barking canine prowling at our feet is, in actuality, just like us. Cancer is venturing to adapt, plan, thrive, and battle against anything that attacks it in order to succeed and achieve its goal. The invader is stubborn, determined, strong, and motivated. It reproduces, breathes, eats, and fights through sprouting new blood vessels, defeating the limited number of times it can divide, and outflanking the safeguard of programmed cell death. Cancer is so much more than an illness that we could simply terminate- it’s alive.
The invasion of malignant cells cannot be analogized to an infestation of pests that can be readily terminated through a couple sprays of insecticide. Cancer is astute and knowledgeable about how to circumvent natural processes; it cannot be exterminated through direct chemical aggression. Currently, we confront cancers with combinations of treatments that are individually tailored to target its excessive proliferation and mutated DNA, such as chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and targeted therapy. Although these treatments have done wonders for cancer patients, there are better options than utilizing chemical agents to directly combat the cancerous cells. We need to push past our mainstream, beeline methods to conceptualize ingenious methods of annihilation. We must move forward to undertake the challenge that has killed over 14 million human beings worldwide every year and is expected to escalate to 22 million by 2030. Instead of underestimating the competence of our rival, we must accept the fact that it is an intelligent opponent and bulldoze over its pressures.
"Cancer is so much more than an illness - it's alive"
Recently, scientists are beginning to railroad onto the right track, introducing the intricate methods of immunotherapy and gene therapy into cancer research. Immunotherapy is an indirect method that stimulates the body’s immune system through man- made proteins to be stronger and faster than our enemy. With gene therapy, scientists are able to identify the defective genes that cause cancer. There is enormous support for the future of both treatments as on in May 2015, an immunotherapy drug helped Phillip Prichard of Memphis completely recover from renal cell cancer and on July 6, 2015, gene therapy company Applied Genetics Technologies and Biogen conducted an agreement to advance Applied Genetics’s gene therapies raising $124 million.
Nature has constructed a way to outsmart us through cancer and the disease has puzzled us for centuries. However, as Primo Levi, the chemist and author, states, “We must never feel disarmed: nature is immense and complex, but it is not impermeable to intelligence; we must circle around it, pierce and probe it, looking for the opening or making it.” Sooner or later, we will be able to bamboozle the bandit that has been stealing lives because nature is not impervious to our intellect. If we learn to respect the opposition, it will be conceivable, as President Clinton projected in 2000, “…that our children and our children’s children will know the term cancer only as a constellation of stars.”