I Am A Scientist And I Am

I Think The Way We Think About Cancer, The Way We Treat Cancer, Has Dramatically Changed In The Last Century. There Is An Enormous Amount Of Options That A Physician Can Provide Today, Right Down From Curing Patients, Treating Patients Or Providing Patients With Psychic Solace Or Pain Relief.

It Remains An Astonishing, Disturbing Fact That In America - A Nation Where Nearly Every New Drug Is Subjected To Rigorous Scrutiny As A Potential Carcinogen, And Even The Bare Hint Of A Substance's Link To Cancer Ignites A Firestorm Of Public Hysteria And Media Anxiety - One Of The Most Potent And Common Carcinogens Known To Humans Can Be Freely Bought And Sold At Every Corner Store For A Few Dollars.

I Wanted To Explore Cancer Not Just Biologically, But Metaphorically. The Idea That Tuberculosis In The 19th Century Possessed The Same Kind Of Frightening And Decaying Quality Was Very Interesting To Me, And It Seemed That One Could Explore The Idea That Every Age Defined Its Own Illness.

If There's A Seminal Discovery In Oncology In The Last 20 Years, It's That Idea That Cancer Genes Are Often Mutated Versions Of Normal Genes.

Writing Anything As An Expert Is Really Poisonous To The Writing Process, Because You Lose The Quality Of Discovery.