Since I am continously reading Randy Pausch’s periodically updated News about his fight against Pancreatic Cancer (For those of you who don’t know this Story read more about him here), and, other than that, I am highly interested in Cancer, Cancer Biology and Clinical Trials for new Cancer Drugs I was thankful to came across this excellent piece of Literature by former Harvard Professor Stephen Jay Gould, who himself, died of Cancer in 2002 at the Age of 60.

It’s a unique and amazing short Text dealing with Statistics and Cancer. Clinical Trials and Median Survival Rates are all based on statistical analysis. I have a strong belief in those Methods of evaluating modern Medicine, yet, I am really impressed by how Gould analyzed the neverending question wether Statistics are “true” and in how far they can be used for medical Predictions.

Although this seems a bit esoteric, almost poetic, I still think that Chemotherapy, Surgery and surrounding Fields in Medicine are the only way to successfully treat Cancer. However, scientific progress is slow, but constant.

Read the entire Story here