研究癌症新药的科学家得了癌症怎么办

2014年的某一天早上打开公司邮箱,突然看到一封信,一个极聪明、热情,亲自合成出多个抗癌新药的有机化学家朋友,刚40多岁,两年前发现并治疗过的早期肠癌转移了,现在被诊断为肠癌晚期。真是造化弄人。

我翻译这封信给大家看,因为它让我看到一个无限乐观、积极并专注的科学家的光辉,也再次提醒自己为什么选择了癌症生物学这个艰难的领域来消耗自己的青春。开发抗癌药物的路途是无比曲折的,但是身边不少被癌症影响的亲人朋友不断鞭策着自己勇敢向前。随时问问自己:“我是不是还不够努力?”与所有癌症生物学科研人员共勉。

Subject:A New Chapter in the Fight & Still Celebrating Life

邮件标题:对抗癌症,庆祝生命的新篇章

Hi Everyone,

Well… This wasn't an e-mail I ever wanted to write – and I certainly did not plan to write to you all so soon after my last celebration e-mail!

大家好,我本来永远也没想过要写这封信的,至少我没想到在刚给大家发了庆祝邮件后马上又写这样这封信。(他刚给朋友发信说他癌症诊断已经过去两年了,没有复发,生活很幸福)

I just received the results from my latest PET-CT scan.My colon cancer has returned & I have been diagnosed Stage Ⅳ,with recurrence in both my lymph nodes as well as in my lungs.On one hand the diagnosis feels like an absurd surprise to me because I feel 100% healthy but on the other hand,since they have been watching those enlarged nodes since last August,I've had 10 months of mental preparation for this possibility.

我刚刚拿到我最新的PET-CT扫描结果:我的直肠癌不幸复发了。而且因为癌症已经转移到了我的淋巴和肺部,我这次被诊断为4级晚期直肠癌。一方面,我觉得这个结果无比荒谬,因为我感觉自己是百分之百地健康。另一方面,因为医生从去年8月就发现我的淋巴结肿大,于是开始了各种检测,所以理论上我已经有了10个月的时间来准备迎接这个坏消息。

The day I got my first PET-scan results last September showing“possible cancer”I immediately jumped out the door and ran my first ever half-marathon.9 months later,when I got my PET-scan results confirming I am now Stage Ⅳ,I immediately ran out the door and ran my second ever half-marathon!Even after 14 miles,I never lost my breath – not too shabby for a guy with a couple of lung tumors huh?:)

去年9月我第一次拿到PET-CT扫描结果,显示我“癌症可能复发了”的那天,我忍不住马上冲出门去跑了我人生的第一次半程马拉松。9个月以后,我再次拿到CT扫描结果,证实我确实得了4级晚期癌症后,我又马上冲出门去跑了我人生第二次半程马拉松。即使跑完超过22公里以后,我也完全没有觉得喘不上气,这对一个癌症晚期患者来说还不错吧:)

Final medical plans haven't been decided yet but it looks likely that I will begin a pretty harsh chemo regimen in July after I get back from a much needed Michigan Family vacation.The great news is that it seems like my tumors are very slow growing,so if they respond to the chemo – between that & my overall great health,my doc thinks I could very well be a long term survivor in terms of prognosis – so no freaking out allowed J.That would be an incredible blessing — not only a lot more fun time with my two daughters in their childhood but also a lot more time for science to discover that CRC immunotherapycurewhich many very smart scientists are working very hard on that right now!!I am an eternal optimist when it comes to science!I also find Faith in the stage Ⅳ CRC patients (some of which I met directly) who have enjoyed miracle very long term complete remissions/cures – if it can happen to them,I see no reason to assume it can't happen to me!I remain very optimistic!

我最终的治疗方案还没有确定,但是看起来我夏天和家人休假回来后就会开始接受高剂量的化疗。好消息是我的肿瘤长得非常慢,所以很可能化疗的效果会不错。这个因素加上我自己良好的身体状况,医生觉得我很可能会活很长的时间,所以请朋友们也不要太惊慌。如果真是那样,对我来说真是上天的恩赐,让我不仅能和我的两个女儿分享她们快乐的童年,而且还让我有更多的时间,和很多非常聪明、非常努力的科学家一起,来研究更好的能治愈直肠癌的免疫类药物。对于科学研究,我是个强烈的乐观主义者。我的乐观不仅来自我的专业知识,也来自于和很多直肠癌晚期患者的交流,看到他们不少人都活了很长时间,甚至有人癌症最后消失不见了!如果这种奇迹能发生在他们身上,那也可能发生在我身上!总之我是非常乐观的!