Monday, June 4, 2012

Why me?

I never really dwell on why this happened to me. It just happened because I have a genetic mutation, which is not uncommon for non-smokers. There are two known types of genetic mutations relevant for most lung cancer patients, ALK and EGFR that can be targeted by a gene therapy drug. Interestingly, these mutations occur more often in nonsmokers than smokers, women than men, and Asians than non-Asians. Scary. I fit into all of these characteristics. I have the EGFR mutation, but not on the specific site of the DNA strand that can be targeted by the therapy drug. So I have to undergo chemo. Argh.

Check out the web for articles and studies on Asian Americans and lung cancer. Here's an interesting one. Cooking fumes from a wok are carcinogens?
http://www.najms.net/v2i2p069/



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