So many people have cancer. Why is there not more progress being made toward finding a cure?

[Haole Girl]

I want to know.

And, I apologize if this is too serious a topic for the Lounge.

[HopeHoops]

1. Oh just think of the possibilities.

What if all the money we used to blow up Iraq had been put into cancer research?

What if the $9 billion Halliburton "lost" had gone to cancer research?

What if the money for the so called "war on drugs" had gone to cancer research?

I'm thinking we might have been much closer to a cure by now.

[Haole Girl]

3. A few more...

The * admin bringing stem cell research to a screeching halt... and the U.S. losing many good doctors and researchers.

The money the pharmaceutical companies spend on advertising instead of research.

[rcrush]

2. Theres no money in a cure.

Why cure you when you can live on medication for the rest of your life?

[Haole Girl]

4. I hope you are wrong

I really do.

[SallyMander]

6. That's just crazy

First of all, a single "cure" is probably not scientifically feasible, considering all the myriad different types of cancer and how they affect organ systems. Second of all, if such a cure could be found, there would be HUGE money in it!

The anti-science mentality here gets to me. I'm a conservation biologist, but i know plenty of people who went into biomedical research fields with a sincere desire to reduce suffering and help humanity.

[Haole Girl]

8. Thanks, SallyMander

Of course one cure would not suffice for all the myriad kinds of cancer.

A few years ago, though, there was some hope. I saw a news story about the blood supply being cut off to tumors... and then the tumors would die, so to speak. I'm over-simplifying this, I'm sure. Still, I never heard any more about that experimental drug. What happened? It's been years since then. Sometimes I think there is hope & we may someday cure many forms of cancer. Other times, I just don't understand why we can't.

Oh, and btw, I am not anti-science. I come from a family with many Scientists! :hi: :hug:

[SallyMander]

11. Oh, I didn't mean you specifically at all!

Just a general sentiment that I get here sometimes. I don't know about the specific study you've mentioned, sounds really interesting! I think part of the problem is that hopeful results get picked up and blasted out by the media -- and it's often really preliminary findings, like in studies with non-human animals. Then it takes a *really* long time to get permission to even begin trials in humans, and then that trial process takes a really long time, and then FDA approval takes a really long time... so you get the idea. ;)

And some forms of cancer are almost completely curable at this point -- i'm thinking of some childhood leukemias, for example, which have very high cure rates -- so i definitely think there's reason to be hopeful!

:hi:

[siligut]

16. I remember that study!

You really aren’t over simplifying either. The science behind the concept is sound. Currently this is a method used for treating fibroids. It is called Fibroid Embolization. Of course fibroids are benign. One of the problems with cancer is that the uncontrolled growth of abnormal cells invades and crowds healthy organs and tissue, so it isn't easy to just kills the cells you don't want.

[Juche]

19. I've heard of that too

anti-angiogenesis drugs. What is cool is that I bet cures for obesity eventually comes out of all of this cancer research, since both diseases have a similiar MO. Certain cells in your body need to die, but you want to leave healthy cells intact. I have heard of people using the same techniques on fighting obesity on mice that are being used to fight cancer (attaching metal nanoparticles to fat cells then heating them until they die, drugs that kill the cells, anti-angiogenesis drugs, etc) but targeting adipose cells (fat cells) rather than cancer cells.

Either way, obesity and cancer are both major problems and I wouldn't be surprised if techniques to treat one end up working on the other since a true treatment for obesity will involve killing off adipose cells, rather than just emptying their fat content.

[cwydro]

5. Big money in the big C. nt

[Haole Girl]

9. One of my best friends who has cancer fears this

Her words haunt me. She said, "It's a multi-billion dollar industry...people are making too much money off treatment." Again, I hope SHE is wrong too.

[cwydro]

15. I do too.

[stray cat]

7. There are alot of different causes for cancer and they are very similar to healthy cells

Because of the diversity and their similarity to healthy cells its difficult to find good ways to selectively kill only the cancer cells. Also, if you miss a single cancer cell it can undergo alterations to make it resistant to a treatment and grow right back.

[Haole Girl]

10. I keep hoping, someday, there will be a way

And I wonder if cancer rates are truly dropping, the way studies report. It doesn't seem like it, from the people I know. But that is not a scientific sampling, of course.

[FloridaJudy]

12. People are living longer

And being exposed to many more environmental toxins than in the past. It's a set up for cancer.

As previous posters have pointed out, cancer isn't just one disease. Some are quite curable, especially in the early stages. My grandfather died of Hodgkin's lymphoma, which has an excellent prognosis these days. Some cancers are, unfortunately, extremely aggressive and resistant to treatment. But the treatments are getting better every year.

[sammythecat]

13. Makes no sense to me.

We're spending hundreds of billions on a wrong-headed effort to protect a relatively few from attack by bin Laden & co. while cancer and heart disease are blithely knocking on the door of nearly every single household in America. And if they haven't visited yet, they will.

[TZ]

14. Google cancer immunogenetics

Lots of interesting progress in trials...vaccines, monoclonals, etc...my company alone is working on many different anti-cancer treatments. That stuff about more money in keeping one sick is bullshit...preventative vaccines and trials to maximize the efficiency of current drugs is on going

[Juche]

17. There are over 200 different kinds of cancer

Something like that, suffice it to say it is a hard disease to kill because it is hard to kill cancer cells while leaving healthy cells intact. Not only that, but if even a handful of cancer cells survive in your body, they can restart the disease at a later date. You may think you are in the clear, then a few years down the road a handful of cells out of the 100 trillion that make up your body will restart your cancer.

So it is difficult. However, I think we are on the verge of being able to control it as a chronic disease.

FTR, there is a huge market for meaningful cancer treatments. With the developing world growing richer more and more people are getting cancer (combined with the crappy environmental laws in the developing world). I think more people die of cancer in the 3rd world than die of poverty nowadays. So there is a giant market for meaningful treatments.

[applegrove]

18. I worked at a cancer centre. They were expanding upwards (the building was going to be expanded).

They estimated cancer rates would rise by 80% in the years to come. I think it was partially the aging population. But part of me think it is all the chemicals in the air since the 1970s. Keep in mind that perfume used to be made out of 70 all natural ingredients. Now perfume is made up of 250 not all natural ingredients. That is just an example of the changes that have come in the last generation. No wonder they expect cancer rates to go up.