I Was His Wife, Then His Widow, Then No One's But My Own novel Chapter 401

Sitting perfectly straight in his chair, Dr. Reed looked at Nora, a hint of scrutiny in his eyes as he posed his question.

"Nora, you've been on the frontlines of cancer drug development for years. I want to ask you a question that is simultaneously the most basic and the hardest to answer. In your opinion, what is the ultimate goal of developing these drugs? Is it to extend life, or to improve the quality of life? And when the two conflict, what do you choose?"

Nora froze for a second. The question sounded incredibly simple, but it was actually a brutal trap, elevating a purely medical issue into a profound philosophical debate.

The hospital room seemed to fall completely silent for a moment. Even Xander couldn't help but look over.

He, too, was eager to hear her answer.

Nora didn't rush to respond. She lowered her eyes, taking a few minutes to deeply consider the issue. When she finally looked up, her gaze was clear and resolute, devoid of any intimidation just because it was Dr. Reed sitting across from her.

"Dr. Reed, my answer is that this shouldn't be an either-or choice," Nora began steadily. "These two concepts are not inherently opposed; they can coexist in different forms. Why can't we achieve both life extension and an improved quality of life? Pitting these two against each other implies that the ultimate endgame of cancer treatment is a battle between living longer and living better. But that premise itself is flawed.

An exceptional targeted drug should be intensely precise, meticulously controlling the disease so the patient can live both longer and better. That is the original intent of every researcher in this field."

But Nora was different. Her answer possessed flawless logic, yet it was filled with warmth. It made the entire future of the medical field feel incredibly bright and full of hope.

Dr. Reed nodded, not giving her a chance to catch her breath before firing off another question. "Nowadays, many believe that a successful cancer drug project is one that rushes into the market as fast as possible. What's your take on that?"

This question was even harder than the first. It touched on the entire industry's resource allocation and development trajectory. A poor answer would make her sound dangerously money-hungry.

Nora's brows drew together. "Dr. Reed, I'm going to say something that might sound counterproductive to business development. The research cycle for cancer drugs is exceptionally long. If you want to perfect a drug, it's absolutely impossible to rush it to market. You cannot skip the necessary protocols or the hard data. If a drug is aggressively pushed out just after passing preliminary human trials, without translating foundational research into concrete results, it will just remain theoretical text in a medical journal. It won't be a cure that saves lives. It will only harm people, financially crippling those who are already struggling to afford care."