A few years ago my Grandma was diagnosed with cancer. I was bewildered at the commotion and seriousness which came as my parents and close family heard the news. I didn’t understand it, “Why were my parents and family acting so serious about this “cancer”? I knew cancer had to be some type of sickness, so why all the commotion? Just treat it like any other cold, take some medicine and get some rest. However, I knew that wasn’t the case as my parents started booking tickets to go visit my grandmother in India; I knew this wasn’t any ordinary disease.
So me and my curious self took to Google. I searched for “cancer” in the search bar and looked at the results. Cancer is an abnormal cell growth in a part of a person’s body. Now me and my naive self still believed this was just some special disease that had to have some sort of cure, so I took to Google one more time; this time to search for existing cures for cancer. The results that came sunk my heart.
Scientists have yet to ‘cure’ cancer.
– Knudsen, K. (2020)
I was paranoid, I had to have made some mistake I kept on thinking. I refreshed the page countless times, the same horrific result being embedded in my brain. All I knew was that there isn’t any problem that can’t be solved. So I took to the internet one more time, this time clicking on numerous links and reading the articles; that is when I stumbled upon CRISPR (BBC Health, 2016).
CRISPR is a revolutionary technology that used gene editing to create specialized treatment for cancer. I was ecstatic, finally there was a treatment for cancer. However, it is a new idea that still had to be tested. As I was reading about it, I understood very little about what it actually was as I had very little background information about genetics. I knew that I wouldn’t be able to learn anymore about this cure if I didn’t know anything about genetics. So instead of playing video games after school from that day on, I decided to read about genetics and what it really was, in hopes of fully understanding the technology that would cure my grandmother.
That brings me here, 2 years later still learning about genetics. However, I want to share my knowledge and thoughts about genetics here on this blog to inform others of this revolutionary topic and encourage them to learn about the topic as well. I will not only be talking about genetics but also keeping about to date about advances in other medical fields as well. I hope you enjoy my content and any feedback will be greatly appreciated.
References
BBC Health. (September 6, 2016). Gene-editing method shrinks cancer.
Retrieved from https://www.bbc.com/news/health-37279430
Knudsen, K. (January 10, 2020). Philly Voice: Scientists have yet to ‘cure’ cancer, but significant advancements have improved survival rates.
Retrieved from https://www.phillyvoice.com/scientists-have-yet-cure-cancer-significant-advancements-have-improved-survival-rates/
The Gene Inquirer 
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