The cancer of original sin

The story of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden is well known. Most understand that what the first couple did wrong was to disobey God. They were given explicit instructions to stay away from one tree. Along comes a snake hissing about what they were missing and the garden party was suddenly over.

What we frequently overlook in the story of original sin is that it is also about greed. Adam and Eve had more than enough to eat. In fact, their every need was met. Yet they wanted more. They were tempted by what they did not have rather than being satisfied with their needs being met.

Greed is at the heart of many sins in scripture. Consider King David. He committed adultery and murder in his pursuit of Bathsheba, but there was more than lust was in his heart. David had wives and concubines galore. As king, he could have had practically any unmarried woman he desired, but he wanted the wife of another man and was not going to let biblical laws get in the way. 

There is no escaping the plague of greed in this age or any other. Wars are almost always fought over greed in the form of resources coveted by others. We lie, cheat, steal and even kill others because of things we desire. We destroy God's creation because of our insatiable appetites for more and more. We will bow down to graven images, false prophets, and corrupt political leaders that promise prosperity. Isn't it odd that greed is the sin that no one likes to talk about. 

Greed is also going to kill my son. His death will be chalked up to cancer, but greed will likely have a hand. That probably sounds odd so let me explain.

My son has neuroendocrine cancer. Current treatments, most of which have been around for decades, only slow the spread of the cancer. However, the most promising treatment ever developed sits in a freezer in Sweden because it will never make a pharmaceutical company rich.

Dr. Magnus Essand and colleagues at Uppsala University modified a common virus to attack and kill neuroendocrine tumors. It is inexpensive to produce, has few side effects, and ruthlessly effective in the lab. So why are dish cultures of the oncolytic virus sitting in a freezer while hundreds of thousands of people die every year from neuroendocrine cancer? Because Dr. Essand published his findings in scientific journals without first patenting the method, drug companies cannot get exclusive rights and make lots and lots of money.

'It is so,' Magnus agrees sorrowfully. Swedishly uninterested in profiteering, devoted only to the purity of science, Magnus and his co-workers on this virus have already published the details of their experiments in leading journals around the world, which means that the modified virus as it stands can no longer be patented. And without a patent to make the virus commercial, no one will invest. Even if I could raise the £2 million (I want only the best version) to get the therapy to the end of phase II trials, no organisation is going to step forward to run the phase III trial that is necessary to make the therapy public.

Greed. The head of oncology at Uppsala University, Kjell Oberg, tries to put some lipstick on the pig, but the stench of gluttony remains.

'It is because,' Kjell corrects me, 'only if there's a big profit can such companies ensure that everyone involved earns enough to pay their mortgage.'

Dr. Oberg is far too polite. Drug company executives rarely have mortgages on their castles, but I digress. Had Dr. Essand patented the cancer-killing virus and sold the rights to a drug company to make billions in profit, he would have had a castle of his very own. Thinking about the greater good will never do in a world driven by greed, even at the expense of the sick.

Maybe one day, this tumor-killing virus will make neuroendocrine cancer a readily treatable condition. That probably will not happen in my son's lifetime and we will be left wrestling with the realities of the profit first and foremost mentality of humans.

Ever wonder why Christ said you cannot serve God and Mammon? God calls us to compassion and Mammon demands greed. Greed has always been the bane of human existence. And no matter how many scripture verses tell us to pursue God instead of materialism, humans will always listen to the snake.