My sister discovered the cure for cancer, but it came at a terrible price.

The Cancer Cure was my senior thesis. That’s what she called it. My sister Kathryn was a brilliant woman spending most of her time in the lab at the University of Virginia. After her graduation in 2013, she began her research into cancer. Many scientists before her had tried to find a cure. People had even died trying to cure it. But Kate was different. She started to give hope. In January, she noticed increased cellular growth in subjects who had been given her new wonder drug. The drug, which she called Carotene, was made of three things: tea leaves, saffron oil, and lemon juice. The subjects had changed. Their tumors had shrunk. The cells around the tumor had grown to replace the cancerous ones, as if the tumor itself had never been there. We were all amazed. The research was perfect and flawless. It was as if it had been in the most prestigious scientific journal. The university noticed. They forwarded her to the National Institute of Health. The NIH was also amazed. But they said that the research was perfect and flawless almost to a fault. They said that the research seemed too good to be true. That there must be a catch somewhere. They said they needed more data. Kate was furious. She had more than enough data. She had taken cancer stricken rats and turned them into healthy rats. She had almost solved cancer. They didn’t need more data, but they demanded that she get more. In the end, they shut down the research. She didn’t give up. She knew she was on to something. She got her data anyway. In 2017, she had achieved something huge. She was closer to a cure than most scientists. In January, the Rats in her lab had all died. The cancer had grown back. But the healthy cells had outcompeted the cancer cells. The rats were perfectly healthy. But something disturbing had happened. Not only had the cells around the tumor grown, but the rest of the cells in the rat’s body had also grown. It was as if Carotene said “grow now”, but didn’t know when to say “stop”. The rats were deformed, with big growths on their skin. Kate was horrified. She had failed. But she didn’t give up. She kept trying. She tried to alter the ratio of tea leaves to saffron oil. Then she tried to change the dosage. She couldn’t find a way to make it work properly. Then one day, she did. One day, she had managed to perfectly alter the ratio of tea leaves to saffron oil to lemon juice. Not only had the cancer cells shrunk, but the rest of the cells in the rat’s bodies had not grown abnormally. They were healthy. That’s when she realized it. Carotene was the cure. The university noticed. She was going to be published in the most prestigious scientific journal. She was going to win the Pulitzer. She was going to live a life in luxury. In March, she was going to be getting an award. Then strange things started happening. The rats were all dead. They had died in their cages. Not only were they dead, but they were decomposing at a fast rate. They had melted. It was as if they had been decomposing for months. It was awful. The lab was quarantined. The university shut down the lab. She had to wait until they deemed it safe. A week later, it was deemed safe. A week later, she returned. That’s when it happened. She called me hysterical. I was at the library when she called. They had found something out. Something terrible. Something awful. They had found rats decomposing in the walls. But how did they get there? They had been in their cages. How could they have gotten in the walls? The lab was quarantined again. The university shut it down again. The NIH and the CDC were called in. They searched every inch of the lab. They found nothing. The rats had just disappeared. They decided that it would never be safe. The lab was destroyed. They said they would never let her work in a lab again. They said that she had almost started a pandemic. That the rats could have given some sort of disease to humans. That they could have inflected the whole world. Kate was devastated. She had been so close to a cure. She had done something wonderful. She had invented something that could have changed the world. But they wouldn’t let her use it. She was furious. She screamed. Then she said something that shook me to my very core. “What if I test it on you”, she said. “Who are you talking to?” I asked. “I’m talking to you.” “You want to test it on me?” “Yes.” “But what about the decomposing rats”, I asked. “That will only happen if you have cancer.” I didn’t have cancer. I took the drug anyway. That was three months ago. I feel great. I got my first check-up last week. The cancer cells in me have shrunk. Nothing else has grown. I am perfectly healthy. But there is something wrong with me. My skin hangs off my bones. I look like a skeleton. I have huge wrinkles. I have gray hair. I look like I am 80. I am 21. The drug has made me look like an old man. But I am healthy. The Cancer Cure is a wonder drug. Rats were just too sensitive to it. Humans are more durable. The drug works. But I have to ask. What would have happened if I had been sensitive to the drug? What would have happened if I had decomposed in front of my sister? What would have happened if I had done what the rats had done? What would she have done if I had begun to melt? We’ll never know now. The Cancer Cure is a cure for cancer. But it comes at a price. The price is your life. I am a living corpse. I am the first man to survive Carotene and I am also the first man to die from Carotene.

My sister discovered the cure for cancer, but it came at a terrible price.

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