麻省理工高材生研究自己的腫瘤(雙語)

Steven Keating was just a typical student when he volunteered to have his brain scanned in 2007.

　　2007年，史蒂夫-基廷還只是名普通的大學生。那一年，基廷自願接受大腦掃描手術。

　　As a PhD candidate at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Mr Keating spent his days learning how things work – and had always been curious about his brain.

　　基廷當時是麻省理工學院的博士應試生，平時經常進行研究工作，對自己的大腦也充滿了好奇。

　　But, the scan from that fateful academic study proved life-changing.

　　然而，這一次的大腦掃描手術命中注定般改變了他的人生。

　　For, it detected an unknown abnormality in Mr Keating』s brain.

　　掃描發現，基廷的大腦中存在一團畸形組織。

　　At the time doctors reassured the student it was nothing to be concerned about.

　　當時醫生告訴基廷不必為此擔心。

　　However, seven years later, at a follow-up scan in 2014, specialists discovered the abnormality had grown, and developed into a tumor the size of a baseball.

　　然而2014年的一次掃描卻發現，這團組織竟長成了一個棒球大小的腫瘤。

　　After a grueling 10-hour operation to remove the mass, the 27-year-old said he did what any other self-described 』dork』, would do - he dissected his own tumor.

　　在10個小時令人精疲力竭的手術結束后，27歲的基廷說自己做了一件其他自稱怪咖的人才會做的事--解剖自己的腦瘤！

　　『I was even looking at my brain when I was 10 years old. That curiosity took me to MIT.』

　　「我10歲時就觀察自己的大腦，這份好奇心令我進入麻省理工學習。」

　　At MIT, Mr Keating spends his days in the prestigious university』s Media Lab, where he focuses his research on 3D printing and synthetic biological fabrication.

　　基廷在麻省理工的媒體實驗室研究3D列印技術和生物合成材料的製造。

　　He said it was his curiosity that inspired him to sign up for the research study in 2007, that entailed a brain scan.

　　基廷表示，正是自己的好奇心令他在這項涉及大腦掃描手術的學術研究協議書上籤上自己的名字。

　　After the scan, the researchers told him that there was an 『abnormality』 in his brain.

　　第一次掃描結束后，研究人員告訴基廷其腦內存在一團畸形物質。

　　Yet, Mr Keating had no symptoms that indicated anything was amiss – and subsequent re-scans in 2007 and 2010 didn』t raise any red flags.

　　可是當時基廷並未出現任何不適的癥狀，2007年的第二次掃描和2010年的掃描也沒有發現任何問題。

　　But in the summer of 2014, he was struck by a faint vinegar aroma for a few seconds each day.

　　2014年夏天，基廷發現自己總是能聞到一股若有若無的醋味。

　　Mr Keating said: 『After the third day, I remembered that abnormality was kind of close to my smell center.』

　　他說：「這種情況持續了三天後，我想起了那團畸形組織的位置。它離我的嗅覺中樞很近。」

　　And so, he requested another brain scan, and in August 2014 received a devastating diagnosis.

　　於是他要求再進行一次掃描，而八月份出具的診斷結果仿如晴天霹靂。

　　The images revealed Mr Keating had a huge tumor – covering 10 per cent of his brain – in his frontal left lobe.

　　掃描圖像顯示，基廷的左前腦葉上長了一個巨大的腫瘤，侵佔了大腦10%的空間。

　　The tumor apparently stemmed from a mutation in the IDH1 gene, and was a type of tumor known as an astrocytoma.

　　腦瘤屬於星形細胞瘤，產生的罪魁禍首是IDH1段基因的變異。

　　Until the strange vinegar smell, Mr Keating had been completely asymptomatic – but doctors told him he was in need of an operation.

　　基廷聞到醋味前，身體並未出現明顯的癥狀--但醫生說他必須進行手術。

　　He was given just three weeks to prepare for a 10-hour brain surgery, where he was to be kept conscious.

　　醫生給了基廷三周時間準備這場10小時的手術，手術時基廷不會被注射麻藥。

　　Mr Keating said: 『They kept me awake so I could talk… with my head open, so my language center wouldn』t be damaged.』

　　基廷說：「手術時我是清醒的，我可以說話，我的腦腔是打開的，語言中樞並未受損。」

　　Ever curious, he asked for the surgery to be videotaped – and he was back on campus three days later.

　　充滿好奇心的基廷要求對手術進行全程錄像。三天後，他就回到了校園。

　　Mr Keating was given the video, in addition to 100GB of data on his surgery and tumor that he had requested.

　　基廷後來得到了自己要求的手術錄像和100GB的手術相關數據。

　　But, his curiosity did not end there. The student requested to have access to his tumor, so he could dissect the mass himself.

　　不過，基廷的好奇心並未止步於此。基廷要求親眼看到切除的腦瘤，這樣自己還可以進行解剖。

　　He said: 『I was able to actually cut it, stain it and image it – see my own cancer.』

　　他說：「這樣我就能親自切割它，給它上色，然後構造畫面--構造癌症的畫面。」

　　He started chemotherapy in January 2015, and is currently advocating for open access to medical records.

　　2015年1月，基廷開始接受化療。他現在非常支持為患者提供醫療手術記錄。

　　Gaining access to his own health data helped Mr Keating make 『personalized medical decisions』 – and allowed him to learn more about his tumor.

　　有了這些記錄，基廷做出了「個人化的醫療決定」，也對自己的腫瘤有了更多的了解。
　However, it』s currently very tough for people to gain access to their own records, he said.

　　然而基廷表示如今個人想獲得手術記錄還是非常困難的。

　　He said on his website: 『Imagine enabling patients to be in control of their data, able to share, learn, and predict future issues.

　　他在個人網站上說：「想象一下這樣的場景：病人能自行控制這些數據，能進行分享，從中學習，預測未來的情況。」

　　『Both science and patients can benefit, instead of the current siloed data model.

　　「這對科學界和病人都有好處，如今封閉的數據存儲模式該做出改變了。」

　　『Let』s make this an open-source future and enable patients to define their own future through data.』

　　「讓我們努力令數據公開成為未來趨勢，讓病人可以通過數據決定自己的未來。」