It's not a bird - it's not a plane - it's SuperFlab! Yes, SuperFlab, a squishy, flat substance made of synthetic oil-gel, comes to the rescue to help fight cancer! As its name suggests, SuperFlab is a highly technical, extremely advanced technology. How does it work? Simply place the fake boob-like substance on your skin, and the radiation beams will not be able to penetrate as deep into your body. Why? Because they have already had to go through the layer of SuperFlab, which the radiation beams treat as part of your skin. The result is that the radiation beams will target cancer cells that are closer to the body's surface.
On Day 6 of my radiation treatment, I was introduced to the stupendous and spectacularly squishy SuperFlab. As I lay down on the narrow table under red lazer beams and an array of space-age machines, the technicians cut the SuperFlab into a small strip to fit the width of my neck, and then taped it on to me for good measure. Standing back to examine their handiwork, the technicians weren't quite sure if the makeshift contraption looked right, and called their head technician, who in turn paged the radiation therapist physician, who could not be reached. The head technician assured me that they were
quite certain that the contraption reflected what the doctor had ordered and that in any event, if it wasn't perfect, one day of radiation like this wouldn't kill me. (Okay, so I admit that they did not use the word "kill". But that was the general idea.) The other technicians boldly reiterated the head technician's assurances, and as they strapped on my mask, which incidentally is oddly reminiscent to the one from Friday the 13th, and exited the room to start the radiation session, I of course felt anything but reassured. As the buzzing sound began, indicating that the nuking had started, I realized that in fifty years from now, these radiation machines would be nothing but historical artifacts, and SuperFlab would only be found in museums. I pictured the flabby subtance set behind a glass case, alongside scissors and a roll of tape. A small plaque beside the display would read: "Humerous medical tool used at the turn of the 21th century. For related artifacts, visit Medieval Quackery in Room E2."
It is a strange sensation to have my body treated with machines and techniques that are so evidently archaic. Radiation may be curing me but it may also be setting in motion some serious health problems down the road.
When you have cancer, you quickly realize that modern medicine is only a relative term. There is so much more that doctors don't know. While their knowledge, tools and techniques have advanced over the years, they continue to be primitive. Chemotherapy and radiation are both treatments that cannot differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells, and so they indiscriminately destroy both types. Patients are left to suffer the consequences. Yes, chemotherapy and radiation are all we've got, and they have saved many lives. But let's not kid ourselves - they are highly toxic and already seem antiquated. Eventually, current treatments for cancer will become mere medical curiosities, as those who received these treatments gradually die out.
2 comments:
so many people have the feeling that "now is the pinnacle of modernity", they look back at the past with disdain, superiority, look how far we've come. It's good that you can see the present from the perspective of the future, as a archaic past of science. Again, your persective is almost "above time" - you are seeing the present as a past, in the future... you are in the realm of timelessness as it were, similar to yesterday's blog.... very cool.
I think it's unjust to say that radiotherapy and chemotherapy are 'archaic'; technology and techniques are improving all the time, and not only are people alive today who wouldn't be without these technologies, but people are also being treated with fewer and fewer side-effects. Also, if you removed these two from the arsenal of cancer treatment, what would you have left? Surgery, which you could argue is much more archaic (but still has a very relevant place in cancer treatment today), and a whole host of therapies (immunotherapy, hormone therapy, stem cell transplants) which are (in the main) only effective in particular very specialised cancers or cases.
It's also worth noting that it's completely untrue to say that "Chemotherapy and radiation ... cannot differentiate between cancer cells and healthy cells, and ... indiscriminately destroy both types" - believe me, they *do* discriminate - not perfectly, but you would know about it if they killed healthy cells in the same proportion as cancer cells (and frankly, it wouldn't be used if it did).
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