Chapter 16: The Dreaded Disease

After finalizing a new research plan with Gilbert Gordon, Bruce received a call from Lisa Marcos in Michigan, even before he had left the lab.

"Bruce…" Lisa's voice came through the phone, choked with sobs and gasps. If Bruce hadn't had such keen hearing, he might have missed her calling his name.

"Don't panic, Lisa. Calm down first, okay? Take your time and tell me what happened."

Bruce patiently soothed Lisa until she was composed enough to explain why she was so upset.

"Aunt Maria is in very bad shape. The doctor's most conservative estimate is… she might only have a few months left…" Lisa said in a broken voice, clearly struggling with the thought of losing the aunt who had watched her grow up.

Bruce had somewhat anticipated this reason when he received the call. Lisa, grieving and far away in Michigan, was likely calling about her seriously ill Aunt Maria. His guess was correct; Aunt Maria had stomach cancer.

Despite the Marcos family being financially well-off, and Fowler Marcos recently making a fortune from him, they spared no expense in treating Maria. But her condition remained unstable and deteriorating, now reaching a critical point.

"They say the cancer has spread to her brain. Even with gamma knife surgery and chemotherapy, the impact on her will be severe, with great risks," Lisa said between sobs, sounding lost and seeking comfort from Bruce.

"What have you and your family decided?" Bruce asked.

"Mom is considering sending Aunt Maria to the UK. They say alternative medicine there has a high success rate… Even if… if it doesn't work, it could at least make her more comfortable."

Lisa's voice was thick with despair and sorrow, clearly not very hopeful.

Alternative medicine includes methods like meditation therapy, hypnotherapy, homeopathy, massage therapy, aromatherapy, and vitamin therapy, and includes traditional herbs and acupuncture. Originating in the UK, cancer patients there often seek alternative medicine to complement medical treatments. While these methods may not cure cancer, they can help relax the body and mind, cope better with life's stress and severe illness, and at least make the final moments of life more comfortable.

Of course, there have been success stories, leading more people to believe in alternative medicine. In the U.S., many millionaires fly to Europe every year, willing to spend a lot of money on alternative treatments.

"In fact, Lisa, if you trust me, you could bring Aunt Maria to my lab in Los Angeles. We've made some breakthroughs in cancer treatment recently." In truth, if he put in the effort, he could transform someone into a secondary demon-like being like Gilbert Gordon, making all human diseases non-threatening. But for Bruce, whose powers were not yet fully restored, this was a heavy burden.

Each bloodline parasitism weakened him and required a lot of time to recover. He wouldn't do this for just anyone, only for humans with significant value, like Gilbert. Of course, not many humans would be willing to undergo such a transformation.

"Really? Bruce, are you saying your company might be able to cure Aunt Maria?" Lisa's tone rose in surprise, and she seemed to forget her tears for a moment.

"For now, it might not be a cure, but I promise it will be more peaceful and reliable than existing treatments. It can at least help your aunt hold on calmly until new treatments become available," Bruce answered steadily.

"I don't know… Bruce… I need to talk to my mom about it," Lisa said, her voice fading, probably to consult with her mother.

Bruce wasn't lying. He had set up research teams for several of humanity's most common diseases. Cancer, a scourge that had plagued humanity for over a century, was no exception.

Looking back on human history, it's almost a chronicle of diseases and disasters. Starting as early as the 11th century BC, humanity faced diseases like malaria, leprosy, tuberculosis, smallpox, the plague, diphtheria, cholera, the Spanish flu, and more recently, AIDS, H5N1, SARS, and H7N9. Every major outbreak brought astronomical death tolls, like the plague that started in 542 AD and continued to claim lives until the late 20th century.

This grim state of affairs persists even in today's so-called highly civilized era. To date, no comprehensive medical text has been able to catalog all of humanity's diseases, as many remain inadequately researched.

What's more terrifying is that as infectious diseases are gradually controlled, the threat of non-communicable diseases, including cancer, coronary heart disease, and cerebral hemorrhage, has increased.

According to a report by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC), a World Health Organization affiliate, there were an estimated 16.5 million new cancer cases worldwide in 2016, with deaths likely exceeding 10 million. Conservatively, the total number of people diagnosed with cancer has surpassed 100 million. While millions die each year, this number is still growing!

What are the so-called successful cancer cases in the industry? The American Cancer Society and the American University of Oncology and Hematology define success as surviving more than 5 years after treatment. However, they admit, "Even without any treatment, cancer patients can live 7 to 10 years."

This underscores humanity's vulnerability and powerlessness against cancer.

In Bruce's view, so-called cancer drugs and treatments are less about healing and more about profit-making. It's estimated that cancer treatment earns $600 billion globally each year, with $120 billion in the U.S. alone! These institutions brazenly tell patients, who have spent fortunes, "Look, it's not that we're ineffective. Cancer might just be incurable. You should have been prepared for this."

Patients undergoing traditional treatments like chemotherapy and radiation are often left in a harrowing state in the late stages, sometimes unrecognizable even to their families. They are met with repeated disappointments and doctors' somber remarks: "Well... the situation isn't very optimistic. We might need to increase the intensity of your chemo and radiation."

Chemotherapy aims to kill rapidly multiplying cancer cells in the body. But it also destroys rapidly growing healthy cells in the bone marrow and gastrointestinal tract, severely affecting organ function. Initially, tumors may shrink, but the treatment's effectiveness is disproportional to its duration. As treatment drags on, tumors continue to wreak havoc. Long-term chemo and radiation accumulate toxins in the body, weakening or completely collapsing the immune system. Even minor infections or complications can be fatal for cancer patients.

The sinfulness of it all lies in the fact that these damned doctors know these tricks are futile, yet they still push patients toward a point of no return! To these greedy individuals, medicine is about money, not patient health. The sufferers are those deceived patients.

It's ironic, as Mephisto himself believes these individuals are even stealing jobs from demons.

An interesting statistic, inaccessible to the public but available to Bruce's research institutions and labs, illustrates this: In the U.S., over 1,000 oncologists are diagnosed with cancer each year, but less than 10% choose the treatments they prescribe for their patients.

In contrast, while alternative medicine may not be very effective, it at least ensures a better quality of life in one's final days. Those who choose alternative medicine may still fall to the disease, but they often spend their last moments with family, some even maintaining clarity and recognizing their loved ones.

Hence, if not for the breakthroughs made by Solar Corona, alternative medicine would indeed be suitable for the current Maria.

After a lengthy discussion with her family, Lisa called Fowler, the legal advisor of Solar Corona. Though he had no direct contact with the major labs, he could glean enough from various documents to be confident that significant progress had been made. Most importantly, having undergone transformation, he had blind trust in Bruce and understood that Bruce would not make baseless claims.

"We've consulted Aunt Maria, and she's willing to undergo treatment at your lab, Bruce," Lisa replied, somewhat nervously, after the long discussion. "We just need to sort out some paperwork… it might take a little time."

Patients like these have many formalities to complete before leaving the hospital, and Michigan is quite far from Spruill Lab in Los Angeles.

"Don't worry about that; I'll arrange a private jet and a treatment team to pick you up," Bruce replied decisively, not wanting to waste energy and time on these matters.