Luck and Cancer

(a) What core theme (or themes) will be delineated? The project will enable the writing of a book on cancer etiology and the battle against cancer, presenting to the general public the recent discovery of the bad luck theory (why do we get cancer?), the associated controversies, and the implications for public policies and the future directions in cancer research (where do we go from here?). In the second part it will address the philosophical implications of the bad luck theory for individuals, scientists, and religious people (what does this all mean for us, for science and religion?). (b) Why is this project needed? Given the terrible impact of cancer on the lives of essentially all human beings, it is critical to better inform the general public on this disease, why it occurs, and what we can do moving forward scientifically, politically, and emotionally, to deal with it. (c) What specific Big Questions will the project help to answer? The questions will be: (1) What causes cancer? Is cancer mainly the consequence of harmful human lifestyles, environmental exposures, and inherited factors, or rather often just a consequence of normal somatic mutation rates and pure chance? (2) How the presence of randomness affects science and religion? (d) What activities will you carry out to answer those questions? Writing of a manuscript to be submitted for publication, and interviews with relevant experts. (e) What concrete deliverables will you expect to produce by the end of the project? A book published by a publishing house. (f) What will be the likely impact of the proposed project activities and research methodologies? We expect this book to have a large impact on society at multiple levels, improving the way patients deal with the news of the disease as well as with pushing for greater efforts in cancer early detection. It will also enlighten the philosophical and theological implications of randomness in our lives.