What Would I Do
When facing the thought of my own mortality, I think back on those who have lost their life’s before me to help in any way they could before and after death to further along the progress of finding a cure. I cannot help but wonder what I can do for the future generations of people. Mainly I want to spend as much time as I can with my family, I have a five year old daughter and a three year old son, my husband is our family’s rock he would be with me every step of the way. They are my world; I would push the science community to the limit trying to find a way to stay here for as long as possible.
I am the same age my mother was when she was told she had cancer. I have been dreading the day it would be me, however I know thanks to my mother I have a greater chance of surviving cancer. She was very poor and would not be able to afford the current treatment at the time and so she volunteered to be a test subject. She was tested with different amounts and types of chemotherapy. Thanks to her and other young adults, not only is chemo safer but they are using less radiation.
Chemo would be my second choice; first I would like to see if surgery is an option to rid myself of the cancer. If neither one would work I would look in alternative options. While drinking tea or eating a healthy diet is always a good idea, I would look into immunotherapy and gene therapy. At this point in time immunotherapy is growing with clinical trials and will be more available to me. And I think the theory of using a person’s own immune system or beefing it up with man-made immune systems is a great way to fight cancer not only would you be killing the cancer but you immune system can also fight off other illnesses.
My other option would be gene therapy; the theory is that cancer is cause by genes that are irregular or mutated. Scientists believe by adding or subtracting certain genes that the mutated cells will stop growing. The main problem they are having is knowing what genes are mutated, they are having a hard time because the technology is not there; but they are trying to get it there. That is why I am going into Pharmaceutical research and development. These choices are getting there but they need new fresh minds that can help push these theories into a viable choice, one where they are not thought of as alternative but the safest most undamaging way of treating cancer. Getting the diagnosis of cancer is a terrible ordeal. With the love of my family and the power of knowledge, it may lessen the drastic affect it will have on me.
By: Schwab, Margaret
