Albert Einstein once said, “Science without religion is lame. Religion without science is blind.” While science and faith have long been wrestled over in public discourse, at Trinity Western University the two disciplines are intertwined in a cutting-edge biology class that examines the effects of cancer on patients and their families. Taught by Professor of Biology and Canada Research Chair in Developmental Genetics and Disease, Eve Stringham, Ph.D., the class—Genetics and Cell Biology of Neoplasia—brings together an intimate group of biology and nursing students to study the cell biology and immunology of tumor cells, genetic predisposition, and treatment strategies. In addition to the hard science they learn, the students are each paired with a cancer patient to pray for during the semester.
“The class totally changed my life,” says fourth-year biology major Carol Tadrous. Like many students, Tadrous came to the class with her own personal story—her aunt was diagnosed with breast cancer the same year. “And then came Skyler,” she says, as she remembers the boy she prayed for. The seven-year-old had medulloblastoma (cancer in the brain that is pressed through the spinal cord). “He wanted to be a pastor when he grew up and gave inspirational talks at schools and churches,” she says. “I’m just speechless when it comes to this little boy. He was so full of hope and joy. I even included my experience with him in my application for medical school.”
“as an aspiring christian doctor, i would really like to incorporate the love of Jesus and his healing power—to use that with the patients I serve.”
Not wanting to show pity, Tadrous found it difficult to approach Skyler at first. But they soon became fast friends. And from a class unit about ‘healing of spirit,’ she applied theory that she learned to her relationship with him. “As an aspiring Christian doctor, I would really like to incorporate the love of Jesus and His healing power—to use that with the patients I serve,” she says.
For pre-med student Arend Strikwerda, praying for terminally ill patients came naturally. “A part of who we are is to engage in each other’s suffering,” he says. “It’s natural to pray for someone and to empathize. I feel like that’s a really important part of what it is to be human.” He felt some trepidation when asking personal questions of his prayer patient—a middle-aged man with a tumour on his tongue. “It’s the first time I’ve met a stranger and said, ‘Tell me about your life over the past six months and what your experience is with cancer.” But the man and his wife surprised Strikwerda with their openness; they added him to their email list, and for nearly a year he read twice-a-week email updates from them.
“I think I get it now from the personal point of view,” says Strikwerda. “Reading how his wife described the medical process, I thought, ‘Oh, that’s how they see cancer—here’s where they see hope, or this is what is really scary for them.’ It’s easy to be lost in the scientific knowledge, but I really learned how to relate to people on their level. I’m excited about how that will affect my relationships with patients in the future.”
Biology honours student Justin Baerg, who came to the class with a background working in hospices with terminally ill patients, says the class had a greater impact on him than any other?—his prayer patient recently passed away from brain cancer. When they were introduced, his patient was at stage four (of four).
“There’s something unique about being with somebody when they’re dying,” he says. “The spiritual side is heightened and the intimacy is just so close. It is raw emotion for the most part. I’ve experienced this multiple times in the hospice—it’s flesh and bones. True humanity and true love come out when you are able to pray for a patient.”
For many students, the science behind how cancer breaks down into cellular functions and mutations can become almost sterile. But once that science is applied to a human being, it changes completely. Tadrous, Strikwerda, and Baerg have all applied to medical school for fall 2011. “We are graduating from twu with a Christian education, so we have this conflict between science and faith,” says Baerg. “But here we embrace that and understand the benefits that come from having a spiritual connection with another person. To be able to pray for a patient is the highest level of care I can see in a doctor. I’ve worked with doctors that have prayed with patients in Guatemala and Abbotsford and that is the utmost care. We know the science behind it, but God is still in control.”
Eve Stringham, Ph.D.
“If a student doesn’t have a personal story, I give them one. I share my own,” says Eve Stringham, Ph.D., who, at 25 years old, lost her mother to esophageal cancer—and who just last year fought and won her own battle with breast cancer. “It’s a great story to tell,” she says. “God presents you with challenges, and how you respond to those challenges is a measure of who you are. Students, who often see the glass half empty and are quite focused on fairness in terms of exams and grades, encounter people who have only a few drops in their glasses and see it as abundant.”
You won’t find an undergraduate class like Stringham’s at any other university in Canada. Her colleagues have taken notice and are interested in building a similar course at SFU. “The class ties in all the courses—cell biology, organic chemistry, genetics, even religion—that students have been building for three years and gives cohesion and meaning to it,” she says. “They gain insight and a deeper appreciation for what’s going on that heightens their interest and willingness to study. The whole class rises to the challenge.”
“Dr. Stringham is known for being a hard professor—she’s science and she’s tough—she’ll crack down on you,” says Baerg. “But when it came to this course, everything was stripped away and there she was. She battled with it. So the value she brought to the course was outstanding. She had an amazing story to tell.”
Tadrous echos, “She’s a strong woman who I really look up to. This is a must-have class if you want to be a doctor.”
Genetics and Cell Biology of Neoplasia
is taught by Eve Stringham, Ph.D., alternating years. The next class commences spring 2012.
by Jennifer Watton