I have always been fascinated with the idea of fatalism. The specific belief that all drastic change or events are influenced by a divine model. Although not extremely prevalent in our ambitions for cures, the school of thought has been connected to the sciences by factoring into our ethical questions about cancer. Fatalism is neither rational or irrational, an intrinsic idea that delves into what will become of the future, staying neutral to the good and the evil. However, in many ways, I feel assured that Fred Hutch will secure a fate that answers our questions towards cancer.
Whether these questions remain unanswered long after the existence of humanity; I feel ever so grateful for having the opportunity to be apart of something greater than I had ever imagined. Science is a machine that never ceases to stop, the importance of its success and failure represents a residual truth in the fields of medicine and science. Researchers, university students, biologists, veterinarians, medical doctors, nurses, programmers, and etc; all have a part to play and contribute to these unknown questions. Contributions in CRISPR have allowed humans to edit the genome, something thought only to be seen in sci-fi films. Other contributions include the ability to use PCR to duplicate and amplify genes for abundance in research. Whilst these contributions may question ethical guidelines for science, they impose a future that one could only hope for in a cancer cure, and a step closer towards what we want to know. Fred Hutch has not only taught me that these problems must exist for a satisfying conclusion to cancer’s story; but that it is required as the essence of research’s biggest questions. In closing to my chapter at Fred Hutch, I feel as though cancer has a long way to go. However, I am positive that fate will bring cancer to a conclusion that meets satisfaction to the human race. From here, I hope that science will continue to make remarkable success in cures to underlying disease, and that in the future I may be apart of this greater mission.
X Files character, Dana Scully quotes: “The luminous mysteries that once seemed so distant and unreal, threatening clarity in the presence of a truth entertained not in youth, but only in it's passage” (Memento Mori).
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