Hallmark

The holidays are a time of year marked by indulgence.  Too much partying, too much food/dessert, too much materialism, and maybe even for some - too much family. For me this holiday season, my indulgence is too many Hallmark Channel Christmas Movies.  They are both insipid and irresistible.  Using a collection of B-level stars that all look sorta like someone who is actually famous (but too expensive), and a sprinkling of aging stars looking to pick up a few bucks or maybe stay relevant (Lindsay Wagner, Wendy Malick or Treat Williams - to name a few); they follow a glaringly predictable formulaic story-line to their inevitable happy ending (girl meets boy and they hate each other, dramatic circumstance throws them together, they slowly fall in love, then overhear wrong info about each other, break up, but eventually kiss under mistletoe within the last three minutes - sorry for not providing a spoiler alert).  Consider yourself appropriately warned: they are the crack cocaine of Christmas cable content - and perfect background for decorating, gift wrapping, or cookie baking.

Now watch this pivot . . . 

The Hallmarks of Cancer is an article published in the journal Cell in January 2000 by cancer researchers Douglas Hanahan and Robert weinberg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hallmarks_of_Cancer. The authors believe that the complexity of cancer can be reduced to six underlying principles.  In much the same way that the Hallmark Channel has boiled the mysterious convolution of falling in love into a series of simplified plot twists, the aforementioned Hanahan and Weinberg have developed the Hallmarks of Cancer - providing a palpable pattern for the intricacies of what transforms normal cells to cancerous ones.

None of it really makes sense in the grand scheme of things (the Hallmark Movies or the Hallmarks of Cancer - or for that matter perhaps, this Hallmarks-inspired posting), but anything that can help demystify the befuddling buzz of cancer diagnosis and treatment, can facilitate wrapping our heads and hearts around this scourge - for all of us (patients, family members, caregivers and friends).

Falling in love doesn't happen in two hours during the snowy days leading up to Christmas (it always seems to be snowing at just the right time during these movies; dramatic or heartwarming).  And surviving cancer isn't that artificially expedient either.  But hallmark movies help us believe that anything, even as elusive as love, is possible.  And understanding the Hallmarks of Cancer, can help breakdown the science into digestible bites that can minimize our confusion and add to our confidence.

May health and love both find you this holiday season.