彭蒙惠英语：Beating Cancer: A Quest for Miracles

Beating Cancer: A Quest for Miracles

 

By Fawn¹ Vrazo / © 2005, The Philadelphia Inquirer, Knight² Ridder

Newspapers. Distributed by Tribune Media Services.

 

New hope that targeted therapies will be the ultimate weapon for winning the war on cancer

 

1

“I want off,” David Wolovitz told his cancer doctor. “I want off now.”

 

It was fall 2000, and Wolovitz felt a bit stunned³ himself as the fateful words tumbled out of his mouth. He was telling his oncologist to end the treatments that were his only hope for beating a deadly blood cancer. Wolovitz had been diagnosed with chronic⁴ myelogenous leukemia (CML) the previous March. CML is caused by a defective⁵ gene⁶ that allows the bloodstream to become clogged⁷ with cancerous, immature⁸ white blood cells. In 2000, the only treatment options for CML were injections with interferon or a bone marrow⁹ transplant. Without treatment, CML victims die within three to five years, usually from fatal infections or bleeding.

 

No good options

Wolovitz was deciding his own death sentence. But he had his reasons. Interferon works well with many CML patients, but for Wolovitz, the medicine was more terrible than the disease. In its earliest stages, his CML had given him only the vaguest of symptoms. He felt fatigued¹⁰ and couldn’t eat more than a few bites of food. But the interferon was something else. The treatments made him so nauseated¹¹ all he could do was lie on his couch. One night, he vomited¹² violently and spent hours lying on the bathroom floor of his home.

 

But the real kicker was his blood tests, which showed that the interferon was not working. Even if Wolovitz found a matching bone-marrow donor¹³, he knew that a marrow transplant would make him feel sicker, or even kill him. He ruled that option out, too. Mentally, he prepared to die. He knew it would take a miracle to save his life. But miracles do happen.

 

Vocabulary Focus

fateful (adj) [5feitful] having an important and usually negative effect on the future

death sentence (n phr) a decision with a fatal result

something else (idiom) remarkable¹⁴ or extraordinary; something entirely¹⁵ different

kicker (n) [5kikE] a condition that is often hidden or unexpected; a surprising change of events (informal)

rule out (idiom) to decide that something is impossible, will not happen, or is not suitable

 

Specialized¹⁶ Terms

oncologist (n) 肿瘤专家 a specialist who studies and treats bodily tumors, masses of diseased cells

interferon (n) 干扰素 any of various proteins in the body produced by cells as a reaction to infection by a virus; can be mass-produced and used as a drug

bone marrow transplant (n phr) 骨髓移植 an operation in which soft, fatty tissue in the center of a bone is moved from one person to another or within one person’s body

 

打败癌症：探索奇迹

 

新希望：目标疗法是打赢抗癌战争的终极武器

 

许美鸾 译

 

1

“我要放弃”，大卫·沃洛维兹告诉他的癌症医生：“我现在就要放弃。”

那是2000年秋天，当这些决定性的话从他口中吐出时，沃洛维兹自己都觉得有点吓一跳。他是在告诉他的肿瘤专科医师结束打击他的致命血癌惟一希望的治疗。沃洛维兹在之前的3月被诊断出患了慢性脊髓性白血病（简称CML）。CML 是由一个有缺陷的基因所引起。这个基因让血流被癌性的、不成熟的白细胞所阻塞。2000年时CML仅有的治疗选择是注射干扰素或进行骨髓移植。如果不治疗，CML 患者会在3～5年内死亡，通常是因致命的感染或流血。

 

没有好的选择

沃洛维兹是在决定自己的死刑。但他有他的理由。干扰素对许多CML病人有效，但对沃洛维兹，这个药比病还恐怖。患病初期，他的 CML 症兆非常轻微。他觉得疲倦，只能吃几口食物。但干扰素则大为不同，干扰素的治疗让他恶心不止，他只能躺在沙发上。有一天晚上，他剧烈地呕吐，在他家浴室地板上躺了好几个小时。

但真正令人始料不及的是他的血液检验，它显示出干扰素并未发生效用。即使沃洛维兹找到配对的骨髓捐赠者，他知道骨髓移植会让他更不舒服，甚至送命。他也排除了这个选择。心理上，他已准备死了。他知道只有奇迹才救得了他的命。但是奇迹确实会发生。

1 fawn   

n.未满周岁的小鹿；v.巴结，奉承

参考例句：

• A fawn behind the tree looked at us curiously.树后面一只小鹿好奇地看着我们。
• He said you fawn on the manager in order to get a promotion.他说你为了获得提拔，拍经理的马屁。

2 knight   

n.骑士，武士；爵士

参考例句：

• He was made an honourary knight.他被授予荣誉爵士称号。
• A knight rode on his richly caparisoned steed.一个骑士骑在装饰华丽的马上。

3 stunned   

adj. 震惊的，惊讶的 动词stun的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• The fall stunned me for a moment. 那一下摔得我昏迷了片刻。
• The leaders of the Kopper Company were then stunned speechless. 科伯公司的领导们当时被惊得目瞪口呆。

4 chronic   

adj.(疾病)长期未愈的，慢性的；极坏的

参考例句：

• Famine differs from chronic malnutrition.饥荒不同于慢性营养不良。
• Chronic poisoning may lead to death from inanition.慢性中毒也可能由虚弱导致死亡。

5 defective   

adj.有毛病的，有问题的，有瑕疵的

参考例句：

• The firm had received bad publicity over a defective product. 该公司因为一件次品而受到媒体攻击。
• If the goods prove defective, the customer has the right to compensation. 如果货品证明有缺陷， 顾客有权索赔。

6 gene   

n.遗传因子，基因

参考例句：

• A single gene may have many effects.单一基因可能具有很多种效应。
• The targeting of gene therapy has been paid close attention.其中基因治疗的靶向性是值得密切关注的问题之一。

7 clogged   

（使）阻碍( clog的过去式和过去分词 )； 淤滞

参考例句：

• The narrow streets were clogged with traffic. 狭窄的街道上交通堵塞。
• The intake of gasoline was stopped by a clogged fuel line. 汽油的注入由于管道阻塞而停止了。

8 immature   

adj.未成熟的，发育未全的，未充分发展的

参考例句：

• Tony seemed very shallow and immature.托尼看起来好像很肤浅，不夠成熟。
• The birds were in immature plumage.这些鸟儿羽翅未全。

9 marrow   

n.骨髓；精华；活力

参考例句：

• It was so cold that he felt frozen to the marrow. 天气太冷了，他感到寒冷刺骨。
• He was tired to the marrow of his bones.他真是累得筋疲力尽了。

10 fatigued   

adj. 疲乏的

参考例句：

• The exercises fatigued her. 操练使她感到很疲乏。
• The President smiled, with fatigued tolerance for a minor person's naivety. 总统笑了笑，疲惫地表现出对一个下级人员的天真想法的宽容。

11 nauseated   

adj.作呕的，厌恶的v.使恶心，作呕( nauseate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• I was nauseated by the violence in the movie. 影片中的暴力场面让我感到恶心。
• But I have chewed it all well and I am not nauseated. 然而我把它全细细咀嚼后吃下去了，没有恶心作呕。 来自英汉文学 - 老人与海

12 vomited   

参考例句：

• Corbett leaned against the wall and promptly vomited. 科比特倚在墙边，马上呕吐了起来。
• She leant forward and vomited copiously on the floor. 她向前一俯，哇的一声吐了一地。 来自英汉文学

13 donor   

n.捐献者；赠送人；(组织、器官等的)供体

参考例句：

• In these cases,the recipient usually takes care of the donor afterwards.在这类情况下，接受捐献者以后通常会照顾捐赠者。
• The Doctor transplanted the donor's heart to Mike's chest cavity.医生将捐赠者的心脏移植进麦克的胸腔。

14 remarkable   

adj.显著的，异常的，非凡的，值得注意的

参考例句：

• She has made remarkable headway in her writing skills.她在写作技巧方面有了长足进步。
• These cars are remarkable for the quietness of their engines.这些汽车因发动机没有噪音而不同凡响。

15 entirely   

ad.全部地，完整地；完全地，彻底地

参考例句：

• The fire was entirely caused by their neglect of duty. 那场火灾完全是由于他们失职而引起的。
• His life was entirely given up to the educational work. 他的一生统统献给了教育工作。

16 specialized   

adj.专门的，专业化的

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations.联合国有许多专门机构。
• These tools are very specialized.这些是专用工具。