Students of Professor Roger Bohman’s Biology of Cancer
class had a surprise guest speaker on Wednesday ““ rock star
Melissa Etheridge.
Etheridge had come to speak to the Molecular, Cellular, and
Developmental Biology 30 class about her own experience as a breast
cancer survivor as part of the mtvU series “Stand
In.”
Students were allowed to enter their classroom just before the 3
p.m. lecture, only to find cameras, cables and a press contingent
already occupying the room. Bohman began as usual, describing cell
division with a diagram on the chalkboard before hearing a loud
knock on the door. After a brief introduction, Etheridge entered
the room to a collective gasp.
“I was asked to stand in anytime, anywhere, about
anything,” Etheridge said.
She chose to come to UCLA to talk about her recent bout with
cancer.
Though she had previous experiences talking to college students
about her music, it was her first time discussing cancer in a
classroom setting.
Etheridge used the full hour of lecture, fielding questions
after talking about her personal story and the message she wants to
express.
“I have never encountered anything as powerful as
cancer,” Etheridge said. “It holds a seriously heavy,
heavy dark place in our society.”
The singer went on to discuss the deaths of her grandmother and
father, both of whom died of the disease. Her desire to raise
awareness ““ which this year included a stirring Grammy
performance while bald from chemotherapy ““ was in part
inspired by the way her family dealt with cancer.
“My grandmother had breast cancer and I didn’t know
it. … She was dying of breast cancer and my parents never
mentioned it. No one in the family talked about it. When I was 30
years old, my father contracted a tumor on his liver and he was
gone in two months. We never said cancer,” Etheridge
said.
The singer then spoke to the class about the process of her
medical treatment, and was critical of what she called the
“conveyor belt” mentality of doctors.
“It becomes a numbers game,” she said, referring to
the various percentages and recovery rates presented to patients
based on their methods of treatment.
Etheridge addressed the class as future medical professionals,
though many students are pursuing the class purely for
interest.
“I’m probably (a business economics student),
nothing to do with science. I’m just really interested in
it,” said Michelle Baba, a first-year undeclared student.
“(The class) tends to be more of the north campus students.
There’s only a couple pre-meds.”
Bohman’s class is focused on the societal effects of
cancer rather than the hard science of it, which was a subject
Etheridge focused on as well. She described her hope for future
patient care as something that dealt with individual needs and
unique situations.
“I hope that when you go out into your fields, and you
come into contact with those who have cancer inside them, that you
are treating the whole person,” Etheridge said.
“Their emotional history, physical history, where they
live … there is very little discussion or thought to the
individual.”
Despite her successful treatment ““ Etheridge is now
officially cancer-free ““ her remarks on the current cancer
care system were less than positive, decrying the expensive costs
of chemotherapy.
“I know that I had the best experience money can
buy,” she said in response to one student, citing biweekly
$3,000 chemotherapy shots. “I know there are single mothers
who have to work through (the chemotherapy).”
Throughout her guest lecture, Etheridge favored natural
preventative methods: the benefit of a healthy, alkaline-based diet
and a positive attitude, saying that emotional status affects the
body. As a beneficiary of early detection, she inspired several
students to come forward with their own family survival stories
during the Q&A section.
A few minutes before the end of class, Etheridge left to do a
wrap-up interview for the show. The students were left with their
professor, who concluded the emotional hour with a moment of
levity.
“The young lady stood in for me and talked,” Bohman
said. “Now should I stand in for her and sing?”