I think Somehow Rachel's Tumor transferred to Ben,,, Thoughts?

Hmmmmm, but why?!

Hmmmmm, but why?!

Not why, how? How the heck could a tumor tranfer?

I like this idea, but the time line is wrong. Juliette wanted to be there for Julian's birth, and that's when Ben said that Rachel had cancer. It wasn't until just before the plane crash that Ben found out he had a tumor.

My question is, if Jacob was the one that cured Rachel, why was Ben allowed to get it. Maybe "allowed" is the wrong word. Why didn't Ben use the same method (Jacob, or otherwise) to take care of his tumor?

exactly,,, this is all very odd. BUT apparently Ben had 'back pain' for awhile before they did X-rays.. maybe like the wheel chair the island is 'turning on him'

I think Somehow Rachel's Tumor transferred to Ben,,, Thoughts?

My real feelings are probably not fit for the forum rules, so I'll say that I don't agree with it. First, Rachel definitely had cancer, however, spinal tumors aren't necessarily cancerous, and if Ben had cancer he'd need to undergo chemotherapy after surgery to make sure it was all gone.

My wife's cousin died from a spinal tumor that was benign, but still grew until she was paralyzed and then died. She had the tumor her whole life, but it was aggravated during a neck adjustment by a chiropractor, which caused it to start growing. She was dead within 2 months.

My wife's cousin died from a spinal tumor that was benign, but still grew until she was paralyzed and then died. She had the tumor her whole life, but it was aggravated during a neck adjustment by a chiropractor, which caused it to start growing. She was dead within 2 months.

wow, so sorry :down::broken_heart: Thats really Horrible!

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Btw The Third Police Man in Your Personal Statment.. Good Book eh? hope LOST isnt based on it totally.. 0_0

I think Somehow Rachel's Tumor transferred to Ben,,, Thoughts?

I thought the exact same thing while I was watching...not scientifically, obviously, but what if however "Jacob" was able to save Rachel wasn't able to eradicate a material, but displace it. What if Ben was the respository for the cells, or better yet, what if he knowingly put himself in harms way and accepted the cells thinking that Juliet's presence was the most important thing...this could explain his reffering to the tumor as 'cancer' without really knowing that it was...

of course, this would move us into realms of karma and mysticism I think the show has hinted at, and might use thematically, but if this ends up being true I'll be quite surprised at such a bold move...

I think Somehow Rachel's Tumor transferred to Ben,,, Thoughts?

. The way the story was being told lead me to get that feeling too--as it did with you. Especially because of the way Ben said it was cancer--as if he already knew he absorbed Juilets sisters cancer through the miraculous healing. No point in asking how. This is a TV show. The concept has been done before too.

Did they say that Rachel had a tumor? I know they said cancer, but that doesn't mean it had to have been a tumor.

This is an interesting idea. If they could, in fact, displace a tumor or cancerous growth from Rachel to Ben, the obvious reason would be that no one on the island seems to suffer maladies (except fatal stillbirths). If the growth is transfered from Rachel to Ben, they probably assumed that it would be "healed" by the island's mystical powers like everything else and that would be that. Too bad they were wrong.

I thought it was interesting that Ben automatically said "cancer?" And Juliet specifically came back with "I said you have a tumor!" I don't know why the writers needed to make that clear to us, but it seemed important to them to do so.

I don't think Rachel's cancer ever came out of remission.

Interesting idea.

I don't think Rachel's cancer ever came out of remission.

I'm with you. Ben lied to control Juliette. He has to stall her to keep her working b/c he has no intention of letting her leave the Island. She wouldn't be too happy to miss the birth of her nephew -- especially since she promised she would be back. Now that Ben has "cured" her sister, how can she be mad? If he can cure or possibly inflict cancer on her sister that is one powerful mind control tool. And an easy one to pull off since Juliette has no contact with the outside world.

I'm thinking that Ben wished for a way to keep Juliette on the island...and the answer to his wishes came out of the "box" in the form the cancer migrating from Rachel to Ben and manifesting in him as a tumor. Careful what you wish for, you might get it...

You're gonna call me crazy...but i had that idea too and i think maybe this is because ben loves Juliet and all juliet's affection is for her sister...so it's a way for him inconciously i mean, to get juliet's affection...i'm not sure it worked but i like to see things that way. :biggrin:

Hmm. I remember an X-files episode in which this 'creature' was exploited to 'absorb' other people's diseases. So everytime he 'cured' a person, he became more and more sick...

Now, following this new theory around that Jacob is actually Ben, what if, for some reason, Ben/Jacob started showing one of those cancers he might have once absorbed? That's why he was so surprised and confused when Juliet kept asking him how he had gotten a tumor...

Ha! That's crazy but I like it! Imagine if Ben is not in Jacob's good books anymore, like Ben has been exploiting the magical power one too many times. So Jacob teaches Ben a lesson by giving him Rachel's cancer! Or maybe that's the deal that Ben made with Jacob so that Juliette could stay and solve the pregnancy issue. If that's the case then Ben is acting quite selflessly.

I am intrigued though by the attention to the detail that nobody knows if it Cancer in Ben's case. After removing the tumor Jack tells Juliette that she should have it biopsied to see if it's cancerous, and Juliette makes a point of saying "I said tumor, not cancer". Maybe it's true that nobody gets cancer on the island.

wow, so sorry :down::broken_heart: Thats really Horrible!

Thank you. It was very, very sad. She and my wife were the same age, and she was only 21 when she passed. It could have been prevented, but part of the problem was medical malpractice. Unfortunately her mother was too emotionally distraught to do anything about it.


Btw The Third Police Man in Your Personal Statment.. Good Book eh? hope LOST isnt based on it totally.. 0_0Yeah, very good, but very trippy. I've tried to read all of the Lost related books out there. So far, it was the hardest one to get into for me personally.

Ha! That's crazy but I like it! Imagine if Ben is not in Jacob's good books anymore, like Ben has been exploiting the magical power one too many times. So Jacob teaches Ben a lesson by giving him Rachel's cancer!

Oh man that's harsh, the way you said it "teach him a lesson" i'd expect something more light-hearted, like Jacob lays some trip wire in Ben's doorway. OOPS Ben!

Giving him cancer, that'd be more like trying to murder him.

I thought it was interesting that Ben automatically said "cancer?" And Juliet specifically came back with "I said you have a tumor!" I don't know why the writers needed to make that clear to us, but it seemed important to them to do so.

I think it was emphasized because Ben had told Juliette that no one gets cancer on the island, but then he uses the word cancer. That clued Juliette into the possibility that Ben had been lying to her, which led to him later proving to her that he was not lying by showing her the live feed of her sister and nephew at the park in Florida.

And we never found out if the tumor was cancerous. We just heard Jack telling Juliette she'd want to have it biopsied.

I like the idea of Ben "absorbing" the sister's cancer.

I also thought that the two were related. I wonder if maybe because Rachel isn't/wasn't on the island, it was the only way for Jacob to heal her was to transfer it to Ben.

I wondered if thats what had happened :)