Tag Archives: cancer treatment

Gold Spheres – Cancer’s Silver Bullet?

tiny gold balls white background

It is the nature of my anxiety to manifest in what I lovingly call a cancerphobia.

Because of this, I listen a little more intently when scientists bring up a potential treatment – something that destroys those evil cells without taking out all the good ones.

Yesterday, as I pumped my arm and caught up on the February issue of Smithsonian, I came across a new hopeful glimmer (literally, sort of) in the “Phenomenon” section. In a nutshell, doctors are experimenting with injecting gold covered, spherical nanoparticles into cancerous tumors, blasting the spheres with near-infrared light, and letting those nanoparticles contaminate the tumor with heat.

Learn the rest in the Smithsonian article, “How Doctors Are Harnessing the Power of Gold to Fight Cancer.”

I mean, aren’t modern science and medicine amazing? Better, they find a trial that seems almost artful, bringing in the most sought after metal in history to possibly save us from the scourge of our time. That’s poetry, m’dears.

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Biological Origami – Trojan Horse of Cancer Treatment?

horse made out of brown paper

Those of you that know me know I have a cancer phobia. It’s the disease that’s most profoundly impacted my life, and I hate it.

Aside from taking very, very seriously the notion that we can significantly reduce risk by taking care of and educating ourselves, I perk up my ears whenever I hear a hint of hope for that magic cure, the silver bullet, the jackpot.

I then suppress the cynic inside when she reminds me that cancer treatment is a huge industry. The focus will always be on cure rather than prevention, and chemo and radiation are probably going to stay on top of that pile for a while.

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