I met a friend early last year who had the same diagnosis. We shared stories about our lives and our struggles with cancer. She was really upbeat and fun to be around, especially because she kept me sane and gave me comfort during tough times. When she stopped responding to my emails, I became worried. I reached out to her friend only to receive news of her passing. My heart sank. It was a desolate moment. I miss her so much. I miss her smile. I miss talking to her. I miss the support we gave each other. I think of her often.
A treatment going well initially can easily take a bad turn. We try different chemo treatments hoping that *this* treatment will be the one. I choke up thinking that my friend did not have to opportunity to find a treatment that would have kept the cancer at bay sooner.
In a way, it is a dismal reminder of how crucial lung cancer research is.
On a hopeful note, a "conspiracy to kill cancer":
http://www.time.com/time/ magazine/article/0,9171, 2139170,00.html
A treatment going well initially can easily take a bad turn. We try different chemo treatments hoping that *this* treatment will be the one. I choke up thinking that my friend did not have to opportunity to find a treatment that would have kept the cancer at bay sooner.
In a way, it is a dismal reminder of how crucial lung cancer research is.
On a hopeful note, a "conspiracy to kill cancer":
http://www.time.com/time/
Got worried for a sec when I saw the title of the post.... =[
ReplyDeleteIt's good they will judge the teams by "patient outcomes, not by the number of research papers published". I think the key to conquer cancer is that scientists have to think bigger and connect different fields like chemistry, physics, computer science, engineering instead of being so focused in specific pathways in biology as they are now.
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