Symbiotic Relationships

Commensalism: a class of symbiotic relationships where one benefits but the other is neutral (there is no harm or benefit).

Does science need medicine? No. Well, OK, technically, when the scientists get sick they would certainly receive benefits from the knowledge gained by the study of medicine. But science as a discipline does not.

Does medicine need science? You bet. And that has been what I have taken great delight in with this whole process of cancer so far.

I find myself "interviewing" most of the health care professionals that have worked with me - finding out how long they have done their type of work (OK, that question is more for selfish reasons. I want someone with at least a hundred years of experience working with me - but I digress), what training/education they needed for their job, and what, exactly, do those machines do that they are putting me in.

This week I learned about these way-cool gamma probes the size of a pencil that work like miniature geiger counters. After injecting me with a radionuclide and letting it course through my lymph system, the surgeon then used this mini-geiger counter to map out the lymph nodes that absorbed the radionuclide. Then they do some math with the numbers the probe shows. (OK, medicine also needs math.) Then, that helped her determine where to cut and what tissue to sample.

My fascination with all things science was only further fueled when I saw the nuclear medicine physicist MD/PhD guy walk in with a long white doctor jacket AND a tool box to work on the machine that takes the pictures of the radioactive stuff moving through. I know! A tool box! My dream job!

The jury is still out for me with MRIs, though. They make absolutely no sense to me yet. Different sized magnets banging around in a tube. Really? Who comes up with these ideas? Oh yeah, Scientists.

"Remember to give glory to the One who authored nature." Robert Boyle, 17th century founder of modern chemistry

All is well.