When Reggie found out that he had mesothelioma of the malignant kind, he had no clue what the doctor was talking to him about. He asked the doctor to explain to him in simple terms what it means. The doctor told him that mesothelioma is a type of cancer found in the thin lining of the internal organs and this is because of working with asbestos materials and sheets.
Asbestos you let me down
Reggie couldn’t believe that asbestos could be so deadly. He told his doctor that asbestos had to be the best kind of magic material to work with when it came to pipes. Reggie enlisted all the physical and chemical properties of asbestos which he knew at the back of his hand: heat resistant, chemical resistant, water insoluble and amazing tensile strength. He was going on and on, the doctor had to stop him midway. The doctor agreed with Reggie regarding all the properties of asbestos. But asbestos was deadly and a killer, the doctor emphasized. It brought about painful forms of lung cancer, asbestosis and mesotheliomas. All of these three conditions lead to deaths. His doctor gave him all the facts and figures and gave him reading material about the hazards of asbestos. The doctor wanted Reggie to go over it during his free time.
Giving Gene therapy a chance
His doctor did tell him that there was a new kind of therapy that was being tried and tested and if need be he would ask Reggie to participate in it. This new kind of therapy that the doctor mentioned to Reggie is Gene Therapy.
What happens in Gene Therapy is that a so called ‘suicide gene’ is put in straightforwardly into the mesotheliomic tumor. This suicide gene is carried by an adeno virus to the target tumor. This gene causes the cells to become receptive to a generally useless drug glanciclovir. Treatment with glanciclovir subsequently finishes off those malignant cells that are swiftly reproducing and leaving healthy cells unharmed.
The biggest advantage of this treatment is that it targets the malignant cells only and leaves the healthy cells and tissues undamaged. Doctors are hoping that gene therapy to eventually replace chemotherapy and radiation. |
