See the World (An Easy English Story): Part 9
Cancer looks like mold. The cancer cells are a deep red, like poison berries. On the berries are gray and green moldy spots. Fuzzy shapes climb in and around the patient’s brain.
Neil can see where all of the cancer cells are, but there is a problem: There are many cells inside the brain, and it would be dangerous to do surgery. Ibsituu Umar, a doctor from Mayo Clinic who uses the lenses, works next to Neil. Before the surgery, she told Neil that she was nervous to use the lenses on someone with cancer. It might not be successful. But Dr. Umar wanted to try.
“Incredible,” Dr. Umar says. “I’ve never seen cancer before.”
“It looks like mold, right?” Both Neil and Dr. Umar are wearing their lenses. Neil hopes that Dr. Umar has the same opinion as him.
“I actually think the cancer cells look like moss.” Dr. Umar finishes typing data about the cancer cells into the computer. She pushes her glasses up her nose and sighs. “We can try.”
We.
Finally, someone can see what Neil sees.
During the surgery, Dr. Umar works carefully. She stays focused on the size, shape, and place of the cancer cells. They finish their part of the surgery in just an hour. Neil turns on the computer, and it begins the genome editing. Neil and Dr. Umar sit and watch the cells start to change shape and color.
Neil enjoys working with Dr. Umar. She is only 38 years old, but she has three PhDs. Neil senses her love for medicine. While the computer works and the cells change color, Dr. Umar says, “The cancer cells are beautiful. I know they are bad, but I think the different patterns look like jewels. Nature is amazing.” Neil doesn’t agree, but he is happy that Dr. Umar can at least see the cells.
After seven hours, Neil and Dr. Umar finish. The genome editing was successful. Dr. Umar’s eyes are filled with tears. “We can change the world,” she says softly.
Fun for Fluency! 