“The surgery was a success. We removed a large, cancerous tumor. Osama bin Laden is dead.”

Did you get all the cancer?

“No, but we did remove a substantial part. However, we know that there are other tumors, there are other cancerous cells still actively at work.”

Will we be able to remove the rest of these cancerous cells?

“Maybe, but we will have to use many different experimental, highly dangerous, not yet proven procedures and techniques. You see, these cancer cells quickly multiply, they don’t have clearly established boundaries or borders. Sometimes, when you try to remove one cluster of cells, it causes several more tumors to grow.”

So do we at least know where the rest of the cancer is?

“No, not really. … It may have spread to other regions. And then there is the struggle of trying to identify what is a healthy or a sick cell. Sometimes these cancer cells masquerade as healthy cells. Sometimes healthy cells are mistaken for cancer. Even worse, sometimes we accidentally destroy healthy cells, trying to remove deadly ones. These are extremely risky operations.”

So what is our chance for survival?

“Well, that is difficult to say. … People have been living with this type of cancer for a long time. However, this most recent strain appears to be more aggressive; it is spreading rapidly over a larger area. It isn’t as easily identifiable or even as well understood as past strains. We might survive well, we might struggle with perpetual sickness, we might face death’s door. We simply can’t say. Even so, we have to find a way to fight it.”

So what do we do next?

“I’m not quite sure. However, what I know for certain, is today we removed a large cancerous tumor. Osama bin Laden is dead. The surgery was successful, but we are not cured.”

“Live from Seattle with Doug Bursch” can be heard 4-6 p.m. weekdays on KGNW 820 AM. Doug Bursch also pastors Evergreen Foursquare Church. Evergreen meets at 10 a.m. Sundays at 2407 M St. SE next to Pioneer Elementary School. He can be reached at www.fairlyspiritual.org or doug@fairlyspiritual.org.