In fast moving fields like cancer, where doctors tailor treatments based on evidence that's constantly evolving, two years can be an eternity of waiting to learn about important science. For some patients, that interval can be fatal.
Interpretation
In rapidly advancing medical fields like cancer treatment, waiting for research results can have dire consequences for patients.
This quote emphasizes the urgency of advancements in cancer research and treatment, highlighting how the fast-paced evolution of medical knowledge can significantly impact patient outcomes. For individuals battling cancer, delays in receiving new evidence or treatment options within just a two-year span can mean the difference between life and death, reflecting the critical nature of timely medical progress.
In practice
In a conference on cancer research, this quote highlights the urgency of rapid advancements needed in treatment.
Science offers the chance to cure debilitating and once-intractable disorders like hemophilia and sickle cell disease. But we need to make sure the ability to access these therapies, or the risk that someone can be locked out of them, doesn't widen gaps between the rich and poor.
It is true that some off-label drug use is based on very unsettled science and has more risks. But medicine - and not just cancer care - involves lots of hard choices. And the more serious the disorder, often the more likely it is that for every right and wrong treatment choice there are many other practical decisions painted in shades of gray.
We need to make sure that access to a curative drug doesn't become a yardstick by which poverty is eventually measured. Doing so requires a shared commitment between innovators and the insurance plans that are harder pressed to offer these advances to the poor.
The noble science of Geology loses glory from the extreme imperfection of the record. The crust of the earth with its embedded remains must not be looked at as a well-filled museum, but as a poor collection made at hazard and at rare intervals.
Genes are not about inevitabilities; they're about potentials and vulnerabilities.
Nothing is too wonderful to be true, if it be consistent with the laws of nature.
You stop planetary exploration, those people who do that extraordinary work are going to have to go do something else.
Imagination alone is not enough, because the reality of nature is far more wondrous than anything we can imagine
Fortunately, there's another handy driver that has manifested itself throughout the history of cultures. The urge to want to gain wealth. That is almost as potent a driver as the urge to maintain your security. And that is how I view NASA going forward - as an investment in our economy.
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