--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Chemotherapy is a good thing even though…" description: "\"Chemotherapy is a good thing even though it kills healthy cells. But we still hope for something better. We'd like to prevent cancer in the first place..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/jaron-lanier-2241_cancer_chemotherapy-is-a-good-thing-even-though_870347.png" --- # Chemotherapy is a good thing even though it kills healthy… ![“Chemotherapy is a good thing even though it kills healthy cells. But we still hope for something better. We'd like to prevent cancer in the first place.” quote by Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/jaron-lanier-2241_cancer_chemotherapy-is-a-good-thing-even-though_870347.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/jaron-lanier-2241_cancer_chemotherapy-is-a-good-thing-even-though_870347.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d48/jaron-lanier-2241_cancer_chemotherapy-is-a-good-thing-even-though_870347.png) > “Chemotherapy is a good thing even though it kills healthy cells. But we still hope for something better. We'd like to prevent cancer in the first place.” [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Chemotherapy’s dual nature: it fights cancer but harms healthy cells, highlighting need for prevention. **In simple terms:** Cancer treatment helps but harms; prevention is key. Key Takeaway Support research for preventive therapies. Themes health science ethics Mood concerned analytical Type ethical scientific When to use this quote - patient counseling - policy advocacy - research funding Key Concepts oncology risk-benefit analysis Questions to Reflect On - What preventive measures are most promising? - How can we balance treatment risks? A Different Perspective Prevention may be costly and complex to implement. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Cancer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) [Chemotherapy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/chemotherapy/) [First place](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/first-place/) [Good things](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/good-things/) [Something better](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/something-better/) ## Related quotes > [Astonishingly, in spite of decades of research, there is no agreed theory of cancer, no explanation for why, inside almost all healthy cells, there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-davies/astonishingly-in-spite-of-decades-of-research-there-is-no-agreed/) [Paul Davies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-davies/) > [The world needs awakened souls the way a body needs healthy cells.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-nepo/the-world-needs-awakened-souls-the-way-a-body-needs-healthy-cells/) [Mark Nepo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-nepo/) > [“I have witnessed people transform cancer cells into healthy cells simply by thinking about them. I have witnessed human minds affecting the physical world…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-brown/i-have-witnessed-people-transform-cancer-cells-into-healthy-cells/) [Dan Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-brown/) > [When I think of cancer prevention, I think of cancer vaccines, but I think more broadly of all that we can do to prevent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laurie-glimcher/when-i-think-of-cancer-prevention-i-think-of-cancer-vaccines-but-i/) [Laurie Glimcher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laurie-glimcher/) > [“prevent the cancer from recurring by repairing the mitochondria in his patients’ cells. To achieve this, he tries to raise their core body temperature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kelly-a-turner/prevent-the-cancer-from-recurring-by-repairing-the-mitochondria-in/) Kelly A. Turner > [Imagine being able to predict and prevent cancer before it starts. If we gather the world's talent and expertise in a committed, targeted effort,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cuomo/imagine-being-able-to-predict-and-prevent-cancer-before-it-starts-if/) [Margaret Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cuomo/) > [For years, I have been observing our 'cancer culture' and I have become convinced that it is not structured to do what we most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-cuomo/for-years-i-have-been-observing-our-cancer-culture-and-i-have-become/) [Margaret Cuomo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-cuomo/) > [“Turn over a new leaf—of tea, that is. Not only is the virtually zero-calorie beverage filled with antioxidants that may help prevent cancer, but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daphne-nur-oz/turn-over-a-new-leaf-of-tea-that-is-not-only-is-the-virtually-zero/) Daphne Nur Oz > [Scores of studies support the power of certain natural foods to prevent cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-fuhrman/scores-of-studies-support-the-power-of-certain-natural-foods-to/) [Joel Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-fuhrman/) > [The food you eat is among the most significant factors affecting your genes and pushing them toward cancer by causing mutation or disruption in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dharma-singh-khalsa/the-food-you-eat-is-among-the-most-significant-factors-affecting-your/) Dharma Singh Khalsa > [The vast knowledge we have to prevent cancer, heart disease, and other chronic illnesses is staggering.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-rath/the-vast-knowledge-we-have-to-prevent-cancer-heart-disease-and-other/) [Tom Rath](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-rath/) > [Chemotherapy is just medieval. It's such a blunt instrument. We're going to look back on it like we do the dark ages.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-topol/chemotherapy-is-just-medieval-it-s-such-a-blunt-instrument-we-re/) [Eric Topol](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-topol/) > [For a couple of days after chemotherapy, food tastes really bland, even the best foods. I haven't been sick, but have been a little…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/grete-waitz/for-a-couple-of-days-after-chemotherapy-food-tastes-really-bland-even/) [Grete Waitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/grete-waitz/) > [Two to 4% of cancers respond to chemotherapy…The bottom line is for a few kinds of cancer chemo is a life extending procedure-Hodgkin's disease,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-moss/two-to-4-of-cancers-respond-to-chemotherapy-the-bottom-line-is-for-a/) [Ralph W. Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-moss/) > [The great success stories of chemotherapy were always in relatively obscure types of cancer. Childhood leukemia constitutes less than two percent of all cancers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-w-moss/the-great-success-stories-of-chemotherapy-were-always-in-relatively/) [Ralph W. Moss](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-w-moss/) ## More by Jaron Lanier > [If we allow our self-congratulatory adoration of technology to distract us from our own contact with each other, then somehow the original agenda has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/if-we-allow-our-self-congratulatory-adoration-of-technology-to/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Individual web pages as they first appeared in the early 1990s had the flavour of person-hood. MySpace preserved some of that flavour, though a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/individual-web-pages-as-they-first-appeared-in-the-early-1990s-had/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Style used to be an interaction between the human soul and tools that were limiting. In the digital era, it will have to come…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/style-used-to-be-an-interaction-between-the-human-soul-and-tools-that/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We should talk about the ultimate cause of war. It's a question we should never stop asking, because if we do, there's a chance,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/we-should-talk-about-the-ultimate-cause-of-war-it-s-a-question-we/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [There is nothing more gray, stultifying, or dreary than life lived inside the confines of a theory.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-is-nothing-more-gray-stultifying-or-dreary-than-life-lived/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“There are at least two ways to believe in the idea of quality. You can believe there's something ineffable going on within the human…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-are-at-least-two-ways-to-believe-in-the-idea-of-quality-you-can/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [An intelligent person feels guilty for downloading music without paying the musician, but they use this free-open-culture ideology to cover it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/an-intelligent-person-feels-guilty-for-downloading-music-without/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“What these critics forget is that printing presses in themselves provide no guarantee of an enlightened outcome. People, not machines, made the Renaissance. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/what-these-critics-forget-is-that-printing-presses-in-themselves/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [There were studies that asked people in different cultures to draw pictures of their enemies, and the pictures all looked remarkably the same. They…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/there-were-studies-that-asked-people-in-different-cultures-to-draw/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [“Zombies are familiar characters in philosophical thought experiments. They are like people in every way except they have no internal experience… If there are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/zombies-are-familiar-characters-in-philosophical-thought-experiments/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [We're losing track of the vastness of the potential for computer science. We really have to revive the beautiful intellectual joy of it, as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/we-re-losing-track-of-the-vastness-of-the-potential-for-computer/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Of all the things you can spend a lot of money on, the only things you expect to fail frequently are software and medicine.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/of-all-the-things-you-can-spend-a-lot-of-money-on-the-only-things-you/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [ At the turn of the \[21st\] century it was really Sergey Brin at Google who just had the thought of, well, if we give… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/at-the-turn-of-the-21st-century-it-was-really-sergey-brin-at-google/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [The mass culture of childhood right now is astonishingly technical. Little kids know their Unix path punctuation so they can get around the Web,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/the-mass-culture-of-childhood-right-now-is-astonishingly-technical/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) > [Wal-Mart impoverished its own customer base. Google is facing exactly the same issue long-term, although not yet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jaron-lanier/wal-mart-impoverished-its-own-customer-base-google-is-facing-exactly/) [Jaron Lanier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) [Explore all 173 Jaron Lanier quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jaron-lanier/) ## More Cancer quotes > [Women still, when they have breast cancer, go to work; they still lead their lives. They have to. I just did what I was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/monica-potter/women-still-when-they-have-breast-cancer-go-to-work-they-still-lead/) [Monica Potter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/monica-potter/) > [If one truly has lost hope, one would not be on hand to say so.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-bentley/if-one-truly-has-lost-hope-one-would-not-be-on-hand-to-say-so/) [Eric Bentley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-bentley/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [Historically, more people have died of religion than cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dick-francis/historically-more-people-have-died-of-religion-than-cancer/) [Dick Francis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dick-francis/) > [“Our kind of love can go into remission, but it's always waiting to return. Like the world sweetest cancer.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gillian-flynn/our-kind-of-love-can-go-into-remission-but-it-s-always-waiting-to/) [Gillian Flynn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gillian-flynn/) > [Bollywood is a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victor-banerjee/bollywood-is-a-cancer/) [Victor Banerjee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victor-banerjee/) > [You should be angry. You must not be bitter. Bitterness is like cancer. It eats upon the host. It doesn't do anything to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maya-angelou/you-should-be-angry-you-must-not-be-bitter-bitterness-is-like-cancer/) [Maya Angelou](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maya-angelou/) > [When people go get chemo, they're not injecting themselves with will - I have lost various loved ones to cancer, and I certainly don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-c-hall/when-people-go-get-chemo-they-re-not-injecting-themselves-with-will-i/) [Michael C. Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-c-hall/) > [“the doctor hesitated before breaking the news to her. "those aren't stars. it's cancer." - forty years a smoker”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amanda-lovelace/the-doctor-hesitated-before-breaking-the-news-to-her-those-aren-t/) [Amanda Lovelace](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amanda-lovelace/) > [I loved you to the moon and back](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/taylor-swift/i-loved-you-to-the-moon-and-back/) [Taylor Swift](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/taylor-swift/) > [The risk of developing carcinoma of the lung increases steadily as the amount smoked increases. If the risk among non-smokers is taken as unity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-doll/the-risk-of-developing-carcinoma-of-the-lung-increases-steadily-as/) Richard Doll > [I would do away with super PACs. I think it's a cancer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kent-conrad/i-would-do-away-with-super-pacs-i-think-it-s-a-cancer/) [Kent Conrad](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kent-conrad/) > [Aging is like enlightenment at gunpoint. Before I had cancer, I lived my life for my art. After I had cancer, I lived my…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anna-halprin/aging-is-like-enlightenment-at-gunpoint-before-i-had-cancer-i-lived/) [Anna Halprin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anna-halprin/) > [If you are a white male, you don't deserve to live. You are a cancer, you're a disease, white males have never contributed anything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/noel-ignatiev/if-you-are-a-white-male-you-don-t-deserve-to-live-you-are-a-cancer/) [Noel Ignatiev](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/noel-ignatiev/) > [The way I look at it is, cancer research is absolutely nonpartisan. Cancer is very democratic in the sense that it attacks people regardless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-h-koch/the-way-i-look-at-it-is-cancer-research-is-absolutely-nonpartisan/) [David H. Koch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-h-koch/) [Browse all 3,177 Cancer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/cancer/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Chemotherapy is a good thing even though it kills healthy cells. But we still hope for something better. 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