Why is there always zero progress in treating cancer?
We've heard about it in the news for the last 40 years- "Scientists discover a new way of fighting cancer." We hear about a new one several times a year at least. But in the end, these "discoveries" always fizzle away, never to be heard from again, and people still have go through chemotherapy, which in the modern age seems like a barbaric and old-fashioned way of getting cancer treatment. What inevitably happens to these "new discoveries"? Are they always proven ineffective? Are lobbyists blocking them?
Cancer - 8 Answers
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1 :
Yeah, the "new discoveries" are usually diappointing. Read more closely and you'll find that mostly they give people a few more months to live at best.
2 :
Main reason is because cancer is caused by abnormal genes or cell mutations, and these can change causing different cancers. These changes occur quicker than technology and medicine can be developed to keep up with it. So it seems like a uphill battle for them. It's diasppointing, but there's hundreds of people working incredibly hard for these breakthroughs.
3 :
There is NOT "zero progress" made in treating cancer. Great strides are made almost daily. But YOU need to understand that "cancer" is not one disease -- it is MANY disease with a common description. There is a DIFFERENT cancer for almost every part of your body -- brain cancer, lung cancer, skin cancer, tongue cancer, eye cancer, stomach cancer, bowel cancer, pancreatic cancer -- even penis cancer! ALL are different diseases! "Cancer" is defined "poorly shaped and uncontrolled cell growth". The definition of cancer does NOT mention a cause nor a source! Therefore, lung cancer is a DIFFERENT disease from stomach cancer, which is different from brain cancer, which is different from tongue cancer. And with each KIND of cancer, there are often many different subtypes -- there are at least two type of lung cacner and THREE types of skin cancer! Herein lies the problem -- ALL THE CANCERS ARE DIFFERENT! A drug that works on lung cancer does NOT work on any other kind of cancer. Drugs that work on skin cancer do not work on any other kinds of cancer, same with pancreatic cancer, bone cancer, blood cancers, cervical cancers, and so on. SO, it is NOT POSSIBLE to YET find one "cure" for ALL diseases. For example, they have found a common cause and preventative vaccination for women's Cervical Cancer -- Guardasil. But there stil needs to be more research to see if that same vaccination works for Penile Cancer in men. One thing for certain -- Guardasil does NOT work for skin cancer or brain cancer or pancreatic cancer or lung cancer or . . . .. Cancer is not just ONE disease -- it is literally HUNDREDS of disease -- ALL DIFFERENT. So, cancer research is not about curing ONE disease, but MANY. because of the shere NUMBERS of diseases involved, cancer research SEEMS to be slow, but in fact new discoveries are being made every day. One of the newest items found is a genetic test to see which patients might respond BEST to one kind of lung cancer medication, but will not repond at all to another kind. By taking this test, it may be that the treatement for cancer can be more effective because the correct drug is given to the correct patient at the correct time, instead of experimenting and guessing which drug is best for which patient. Even so, even when the drug is a "genetic match" for a patient -- thr drug only adds3-6 MONTHS of lifetime. The patient STILL dies of cancer! But to a patient with terninal cancer, those three months are absolutely precious! NO ONE is "hiding" treatments -- there are as yet no 100% effective treatments available! if you REALLY want to be helpful, stop complaining and start DOING SOMETHIONG! Get off your a$$ and volunteer to raise funds, or spend part time helping p[atients in a cancer wards. That IS something YOU can do that will have IMMEDIATE benefit to the patients - - - - - instead of spreading the gossip and lines about government coverups.!
4 :
Usually, these discoveries that are being reported are discoveries made in the lab, and with lab animals. They arent in real life with humans. And even though we rely heavily on lab work and animal testing, sometimes it just doesnt work that way in real life. The lab is a "perfect" environment where you can control for all variables. In real life, you cant. Not to mention, you have to put meds through years of testing before they are released to the public. That being said though, there *have* been plenty of great discoveries. In fact, if I had had my cancer 20, even 10 years ago, I may not have been here today. No, I dont think there are lobbists blocking them. Why would lobbists block them? These people stand to make more money than is imaginable with actual cures.
5 :
There is progress every day. New treatments come out monthly. New ways of giving old treatments. Progress is slow in all things, medicine included. But what you describe is the VAST difference between lab research and actual results in living humans. Lots of things work in lab dishes. The scientists make press releases, which helps them get additional funding for studies ... but only rarely do these lab studies turn into actual treatments that work in people. That's because they do studies on isolated cell colonies or on mice. People aren't cell colonies, and they aren't mice. Cancers in people grow for years and change ... which is not really what happens in mice. I'd bet that one in 3 lab discoveries ever makes it to clinical trials. I'd bet that one in 10 things that go through clinical trials becomes a real product. That's what science is. Lots of failure, and the occasional breakthrough.
6 :
Lily is correct. If you read the news reports this week on the cancer progress being reported at the big cancer conference in Florida, you will see the "progress" is adding 1 or 2 months of life - not much. There are several reasons for the relative lack of success in the war on cancer. First, there are HUNDREDS of different types of cancers. It is NOT a single disease. Second, no two cancers are the same! Years ago it was thought that all the cells in a tumor were identical - genetically the same (a clonal mass of cells). Recent research shows that NO TWO cancer cells, even in the same tumor, are exactly alike. So, even if a treatment kills 99.9% of cells, if only 0.1% of the cells are genetically 'protected' from the treatment, the cancer will "return". Finally, cancer cells are highly adaptive. Their genomes are in a hyperactive state of change and adaptation (known as a "mutator phenotype"). This adaptability allows them to adapt to and "escape" from being killed by treatment. This is why many cancers appear to initially respond well to treatment, but then a few years down the road, the patient has a "recurrence". So, is there zero progress in cancer treatment? No. Progress is occurring. A few cancers even have high rates of "cure" (e.g. childhood leukemias, some colon cancers, and testicular cancer). But, YES, overall, progress is agonizingly slow. The cancer research community is beginning to shift its focus towards prevention of cancer. There is a lot of scientific evidence that indicates the risk for many common cancers can be reduced by changes in lifestyle, diet, etc. Like all prevention principles, success will depend on the public getting the appropriate prevention messages and their willingness to make and sustain the appropriate lifestyle changes. Below is a link to an excellent paper on cancer prevention. It is written by leading cancer researchers at the Univ. of Texas and published in a leading medical journal. http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pubmed&pubmedid=18626751 Best wishes and good luck.
7 :
I would not agree that there has been zero progress, cancer treatment has come along way just in the last 5-10 years. A lot of the new treatments you are talking about are different chemo-therapies that are considerably more effective than previous chemo-therapy drugs.You need to remember that there are many different types of cancer and that some of the "new ways" of fighting cancer work well on certain types and not well on others.
8 :
I also agree with the asker, i am over 45 yrs old and even before i was born they were giving money to the cancer society, where's a cure for at least one kind of cancer ?? ZIP< ZERO< NONE!!!
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