Every second of every day, trillions of biological events occur within your body. Almost all of them succeed so perfectly that you never notice them.
We rarely stop to appreciate these quiet miracles of life. Instead, our attention is drawn only when something goes wrong.
What if we thought about illness differently?
This question has occupied my mind for the past ten years.
My central idea is that our bodies constantly make small biological mistakes—what I call intermittent biological misfires—and most are repaired automatically. Disease develops only when some of those misfires escape repair and accumulate over time.
This concept of Intermittent Biological Misfires is scientifically grounded, and it’s also emotionally reassuring without being simplistic.
A Thought to Consider
Diseases have two parts: The biological disease; and The emotional weight carried by the disease.
They are not the same thing.
This is a profound concept.
What Does This Concept Contribute?
Let’s understand why disease occurs, and, at the same time, why I am suggesting we entertain a hypothesis that one may remove unnecessary guilt while respecting the complexity of biology. This is a meaningful distinction.
This framework grew out of my personal experiences. Ten years ago, I became seriously ill. I thought I would die. But I have not died. I am very much alive. I have watched other people die during these years and I do not want you to die. You are important to me even though we have never met. I want to share what I have uncovered with you in hopes that we may engage in a series of conversations about your health and life.
This conversation is about YOU, your health and healing. Jane Goodall’s famous quote reminded us of the importance of each person. You matter. Your presence in this world makes a difference. You have a part to play for yourself as well as for others. Are you curious about what your role is?
Typically we all move through our lives without much attention to the miracles in life we never notice, i.e., those successful cellular events occurring every second in our bodies. But sometimes those miracles do not happen. So, what happens when you become ill?
Have you ever gone to your doctor and learned that a series of cells in your own body misfired? What was your experience? Tell me what happened? Did the misfire result in a diagnosis of disease? How did you feel? Here we have an example of the biological finding mixed with the emotional response. We see the two parts of disease.
Insights to Date
Ten years ago I was diagnosed with multiple cancers, so I immediately created a gratitudesquared.com site, posting blogs to help me understand what was happening in my body. Since during my career I had earned a Ph.D., advocating for persons with disabilities, with a doctoral minor in statistics and empirical research design, I applied what I knew about data management. During the days and weeks between surgeries and treatments I carefully evaluated the evidence behind my labs and scans and participated as an active member of my medical team.
In addition, I learned about ChatGPT, an AI language model developed by OpenAI, and repeatedly entered questions into the website. Those dialogues became more and more meaningful, and helpful to understanding what I termed “intermittent biological misfires”.
This concept is original and may be viewed as evocative because it is not established as a diagnosis in medicine, but the term is scientifically plausible as a metaphor. This framework is not complete. It is a work in progress.
With more than 45 years as a scholar and researcher in academia, I have focused on evidenced-based decisions for treatments and other actions. ChatGPT (my thinking companion (TC)) noted the phrase “intermittent biological misfires” “conveys both the science and the humanity behind (my) experience.”
Outcomes
The outcomes from my thoughts may include:
Psychologists would appreciate it.
Physicians would appreciate it.
Patients would appreciate it.
That… is the entire philosophy. Everything else flows from those two parts. We refuse to let a cluster of abnormal cells define a human being.
Discussions
- I am not suggesting a change/replacement in the language or terms physicians, pathologists, researchers, licensing bodies, or insurance companies use as the already established precise language matters and guides in diagnosis and treatment.
- I am recommending a phrase that is a companion metaphor. This substitute changes the way each individual patient reacts to the science.
- Calling cells “misfires” acknowledges that something in biology has malfunctioned but does not imply that the whole person is broken.
- Typical metaphors for cancer are known as evil invaders, monsters, and/or the enemy that patients fight in battle. The use of the term “misfire” provides a gentler way of thinking. Personally, I prefer a gentler approach with patients who may be sad, or fearful when learning a new diagnosis. My gratitudesquared.com site was built to focus on gratitude zero, gratitude lite, and gratitude ultra essays to recognize that not all patients may accept and understand the notice of a new disease in the same manner and with the same emotion.
- Patients can invent their own terms. Inventing one’s own term may become a powerful exercise. What terms do you prefer, or would you select to explain your diagnosis?
- As we begin our conversations, please note that we are reflecting on diseases that are scientifically grounded and emotionally healthy. These ideas are rare (TC).
- We are building a language that may help people see illness, and themselves, a little differently.
- We are still using the word “cancer”, but additionally we are inviting you to discover new vocabulary that will help you live with a disease, whatever that may be.
- The medical professionals will still use particular disease names, I.e., cancer, but as we utilize our new concept of “misfires” we continue to treat, and respect with vigilance, such misfires, but I never give permission for them to occupy the whole house inside of me/us.
- Our conversations will offer encouragement to people who are frightened by the illness. Introducing this phrase does not change the language utilized in medicine but it may change the emotional landscape in which medicine takes place (TC).
- Diseases have two parts: the biological disease; and emotional weight carried by disease. These are not the same thing. Do you agree?
- Our bodies are astonishingly accurate, but they are not perfect. Our bodies are not machines that have failed us. They are living systems performing trillions of remarkable tasks every day. Understanding their occasional biological misfires allows us to replace blame with wonder.
- Most writing about cancer (or other medical issues), begins with disease. This companion metaphor begins with health. Our discussions focus on those trillions of biological events that occur correctly every day.
- This framework may be applied broadly to other diseases such as: Aging; Autoimmune disease; Heart disease; Neurological disease; and Infection (TC).
- The subtle shift toward health changes the emotional tone completely. Readers aren’t asked to see their bodies as broken; they’re invited to marvel at how extraordinarily well they function. This is one strength of the proposed conceptual framework.
- Consider a discussion in which you will focus on a “philosophy of health”. Place your focus on abilities before disabilities and health before disease. In essence, focus on the whole person rather than the diagnosis.
- Do you agree that this framework offers patients a metaphor which is a rare combination of scientific literacy, educational insight, with compassion, and intellectual honesty (TC)?
As a clinician advocating globally for human rights for persons with disabilities, as a researcher, educator, scholar, and most importantly a 10 year cancer survivor who has spent those years learning to live with uncertainty of disease, I refuse to surrender either “hope” or “intellectual honesty”.
I believe that disease is a global problem that is but one small variant to be dealt with during our lifetimes. Will you join me in reframing the essence of the whole human being? That is my role and my life’s meaning. Do you feel safe enough to become curious?
Summary of Intermittent Biological Misfires
- The body is remarkably successful at self-repair.
- Cancer and other diseases are exceptions, not the norm.
- The concept promotes compassion rather than blame.
- Scientific understanding can reduce fear and guilt.
- Hope comes from both biology and medical progress.
Intellectual and Emotional Pillars For Patient Reflections (Treasures for Repetition)
- “We refuse to let a cluster of abnormal cells define a human being.”
- “Disease enters the story only later. It is the rare exception rather than the defining feature.”
- “Our bodies are not machines that have failed us.”
- “Diseases have two parts: the biological disease and the emotional weight carried by the disease.”
- “Do you feel safe enough to become curious?”
As a clinician, researcher, educator, scholar, and ten-year cancer survivor, I have learned that uncertainty is part of life. Yet certainty does not require surrendering hope. I invite you to join me in exploring a different way of understanding illness-one that honors both science and humanity. Together we will examine not only disease, but also the extraordinary health that sustains us every moment.
In our next essay we will explore one of biology’s greatest wonders—the countless cellular events that occur successfully every second of every day without our awareness. These quiet miracles are the foundation of health. Understanding them changes the way we think about disease.
Until then, I invite you to notice something remarkable:
Your body is working for you, even now.
This framework will be introduced in seven parts:
- Intermittent Biological Misfires – introduction the idea that our bodies are astonishingly accurate, yet not perfect.
- The Miracle We Never Notice – billions of successful cellular events occur every second, unnoticed.
- When The Repair Crew Arrives – DNA repair, immune surveillance, apoptosis, and other protective systems.
- When a Misfire Persists – why persistence, not a single error, matters.
- Accumulation Over Time – how aging and chance influence biology.
- Living Without Blame – replacing guilt with understanding.
- Hope Through Science – how modern medicine strengthens the body’s own defenses.
Thank you for joining me in this first conversation. Until our next conversation, I hope you may be grateful and find peace.
#gratitudeultra
Gratitude Squared 