《The Emperor of All Maladies: A

The complex intersection of radiation with cancer—cancer-curing at times, cancer-causing at others—dampened the initial enthusiasm of cancer scientists. Radiation was a powerful invisible knife—but still a knife. And a knife, no matter how deft or penetrating, could only reach so far in the battle against cancer. A more discriminating therapy was needed, especially for cancers that were nonlocalized.

• intersection /ˌɪntərˈsekʃn/ n. 十字路口；交叉路口；交点
• dampen ˈdæmpən/ v.
  to make sth slightly wet 弄湿；使潮湿
  抑制，控制，减弱（感情、反应等）
• initial /ɪˈnɪʃl/ adj. 最初的；开始的；第一的
• deft /deft/ adj. (of a person's movements 人的动作) skilful and quick 熟练的；灵巧的；机敏的
• penetrating /ˈpenətreɪtɪŋ/ adj. (of sb's eyes or the way they look at you 眼睛或眼神) making you feel uncomfortable because the person seems to know what you are thinking 锐利的；犀利的；尖利的
• discriminate /dɪˈskrɪmɪneɪt/ v. to recognize that there is a difference between people or things; to show a difference between people or things 区别；辨别；区分

对于癌症来说，放疗处在一个复杂的交叉路口——有时放疗会治愈癌症，有时又会致癌。这把癌症科学家们最初对于它的热情给浇灭了。化疗虽然是一把无形的刀——但终究还是一把刀。这把刀，无论有多么灵巧和犀利，在这场对抗癌症的战争中也只能走这么远了。人类需要一种更具区分能力的治疗方法，特别是针对转移性癌症。