Medical Research

Friends,

From polio vaccines in the 1950s to the contemporary vaccines to address Covid, and all the other miracles of medical research in between, my generation has been protected, and many spared, by the miracles of the medical research that has prevented us from becoming seriously ill with life-threatening diseases. It is easy to take for granted that these treatments are safe, reliable and available. And beyond the preventative vaccines our lives are extended and eased by perhaps thousands of treatments for many other various illnesses, most of which were not available during my life time. I am very aware, for example, that my father died in1945 of spinal meningitis only months before the availability of penicillin that would have likely saved his life.

I mention all this because I am writing this evening from a hotel near Seattle where I am attending a large conference organized by the survivors, their supporters, and the medical researchers of a related form of lymphoma called Waldenstroms Macroglobulinemia. Until the 1990’s the disease was largely undiagnosed and until 20 years ago it was considered fatal. I am here because my step son, Zach Hunter, delivered a keynote address at the conference attended by patients and their caregivers who have now survived, some now for decades, because of the genetic research Zach did that identified the gene that is the key to preventing, treating and curing the disease.

Because I am now a cancer survivor myself the immersion here into the world of cancer research, survival, and care-giving support has touched me deeply. I am so encouraged and assured by the resilience of the people I have met. For those of us who have survived cancer it is common that what life we still have is evermore precious, and there is a humility that grounds us having faced the limits of our mortality. I am struck by how kind and supportive the survivors are of each other, and how grateful they are to the physicians and researchers to whom they entrust their lives. And although I am referencing the field of cancer primarily here, this observation would be true of all who have faced any form of life-threatening accident or disease. Life simply becomes more precious, and through all the accomplishments of medical and caregiver support we are so deeply grateful for the recognition of how all of our lives are mutually interdependent.

The conference has also highlighted the complexity of the medical establishment. The researchers note the difficulty of getting their breakthrough discoveries past the support of the FDA approvals and the pharmaceutical expectation of advantageously marketing new medicines for profit. They share a resentment when a potential treatment is not made available for economic and regulation reasons, especially when they are know it would ease suffering and save lives. And then, of course, people are aware of the often prohibitive cost of the drugs once they are available. In spite of all this, I heard a remarkable accounting of many available medical advances in the one area of Waldenstroms alone.

At the end of the conference I have come to respect and honor the world of medical research now that I can personally associate it with the caring, dedication, competence, and commitment of the researchers I have met this weekend who are mitigating and eliminating the suffering and life threatening diseases they are addressing. Cancer research involves such a high level of curiosity, competence and experience, especially now that the field is so dependent on the new tools of genomics and AI they must include in their research.

As grateful as we all must be that our lives are comforted and lengthened by all the medical applications that support us, I was especially interested that many of the researchers also strongly emphasized the importance of self maintenance with healthy diets, physical and social activity, and an attentiveness to our mental and emotional lives. As we respond to the gift of medical care in this precious span of life, with all its medical and other difficult challenges, we will also be deeply embedded in a prayer of gratitude for the privilege of the journey life has afforded us.

Peace,
Tom