Master switches seem ubiquitous. They may be more commonly known as root causes. The first domino to be toppled over, resulting in a cascade of subsequent events.
What would be the master switch for global suffering for the human race? In poor countries, it is tempting to send in food and money, believing that the cause of poverty is so simple. Does a home-LESS person simply need a home? Why do poor countries governed by corrupt leaders continue being poor, in spite of receiving tons of foreign aid? Sometimes, I wonder if greed or selfishness is the master switch for human suffering. There seem to be enough resources for everyone on this planet – if only they could be more evenly distributed.
Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.
– Philippians 2:3-4 (the Holy Bible, ESV)
In the same vein, I wonder about cancer. Is there a master switch for cancer? Indeed, in many cases, chemotherapy can feel like throwing money and resources at a poor country where corruption runs unchecked. If the treatment isn’t targeting the root cause, the problem will continue. Does treating a fever with Tylenol solve the problem, when an infection is responsible for the fever? Or does only replacing the damaged wood in a termite-infested house solve the problem? So is there a singular event or mutation, first step or domino, in the creation of cancer.
Of course, scientists have been searching for a master switch in cancer, like the holy grail. For a while, we thought the gene for detecting low oxygen was the switch. It was thought that as the cancer grew, it would out-strip it’s blood supply, resulting a several areas within the cancer being oxygen-starved. Hypoxia (low oxygen) would “turn on” this switch, leading to multiple downstream changes that make the cancer more aggressive. Unfortunately, the Hypoxia-Inducible Factor (HIF) gene is not a master switch. The hunt continues, and I wonder if it will ever end.
What are we doing at Daniel 2:28, Inc? We’re following a totally different path. We’re focusing everything but the cancer cell. We’re especially focusing on the immune system. The cause of cancer is likely an endless list, and there may be multiple master switches. Whatever the cause is, we believe that the immune system is fully capable of destroying the cancer AND making sure it does not come back (memory).
Daniel 228, Inc. 