How close are we to a cure for cancer?
Asked by
bl4mm0 (
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)
January 8th, 2009
I always hear about fund raisers for all these different kinds of cancer. If one person finds a cure for one of these cancers, will that mean a cure for all cancer is imminent?
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53 Answers
I don’t think we’re close, no.
And I think shilolo will tell you that most of the research is about specific types of cancer. (The cells for one cancer behave differently from the cells for another.) What would be very cool would be if they figured out how to reprogram cancer cells generally, but so far they’ve mostly been trying out different chemicals which will kill specific cells, and by the way, they kill other cells to. That’s why chemo makes you sicker.
(...and bald.) The rates of remission for breast cancer have increased dramatically recently.(I am too lazy and too fatigued to look up the stats.)
Not to be the cynical killjoy, but does any rational person believe that Pfizer, Kimberley/Clark, or any other major, MULTI BILLION DOLLAR pharmaceutical company has bottom line actively working toward a cure?
about as close as we are to winning the war on terror
I just got the first of 3 Gardasil shots, which are shots that prevent cervical cancer. So maybe we can’t cure it, but we’re preventing it! I think that’s a major step forward.
well im pretty sure we have one….but as far as we should be concerned…..we arnt even close…..
My dad is an oncologist and is one of the leading cancer researchers in North America. We are inching towards a cure for breast cancer and are going a little bit faster with ovarian cancer. Prostate cancer is still tough though. Leukemia research is developing quite well, as well as testicular cancer. Thyroid cancer is very hard to cure because of the importance of the thyroid gland in general.
A major breakthrough that has come about very recently, and that my dad purchased for his hospital (or is appealing, but they will get it) is an MRI machine developed by Carnegie Mellon that uses fluorocarbon labeling to detect certain specific types of cells in the body.
Re: Guardasil—Cervical cancer is caused by a virus. Viruses can be prevented by the use of vaccines. By preventing the virus, you are preventing cervical cancer. Most other cancers are not caused by viruses, so the use of a vaccine would not help at all.
@susanc nailed it on the head. Some cancers will be cured (some are already), while others will not. For example, there is a form of lymphoma called a gastric MALToma that is caused by a bacterium, Helicobacter pylori. Eradication of the bacteria leads to remission and cure of the cancer…
@Mtl zack. Your statement about viral causes of cancer is not true. There are many cancers that are attributed to viruses (and the Hepatitis B vaccine will prevent liver cancer, eventually). Below is a short list (including HPV):
1. Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) -> Cervical cancer
2. Hepatitis C Virus (HCV) -> Hepatocellular carcinoma (Liver cancer)
3. Hepatitis B Virus (HBV) -> Hepatocellular carcinoma (Liver cancer)
4. Epstein Barr Virus (EBV) -> Burkitt’s Lymphoma, Nasopharyngeal carcinoma
5. Human Herpes Virus 8 (HHV-8) -> Kaposi’s Sarcoma
6. Human Herpes Virus 6 (HHV-6) -> Body cavity lymphoma, Castleman’s disease
7. Human T-lymphotrophic Virus 1 (HTLV-1) -> T cell leukemia and T cell lymphoma
8. Human T-lymphotrophic Virus 2 (HTLV-2) -> Hairy cell leukemia
9. There have also been some recent suggestions that prostate cancer is linked to a DNA virus, BK virus, but the data is too preliminary to be definitive.
@shilolo If I ever fall sick (God forbid) I hope you are my doctor.
@johnny0313x: You think “they” actually have a cure that they aren’t sharing with the public?
@kevbo I am 100% sure that this is, in fact, snake oil. There is not one single chemical that can treat AIDS, Tuberculosis, malaria, and cancer, all without causing irreparable harm to the human host. Biologic processes are not so easily compartmentalized such that a purported chemical oxidant would selectively kill HIV, Mycobacterium tuberculosis Plasmodium falciparum or normal host tissues without also damaging the normal cells (like collateral damage in warfare). This is some dangerous stuff.
@bythebay – yes, i mean think about how much money people spend on cancers treatments and meds, why lose all that profit….same thing with aids….maybe thats a sad way to look at things but honestly i put nothing past people that run this country or world for that matter…i think there is ALOT we don’t know about.. I mean really think about it, if there was 1 cure for aids and 8 people in that room with weapons all around. Do you think some people would die for that cure or would everyone be like…oh no u have it…your aids is worse then mine…actually i kinda like the aids it makes me feel attractive. People are selfish and stingy all the money generated from new treatments and new medicines would be gone if there was a cure…not to mention in the case of aids…trojan would go out of business because who the hell would care about getting aids then when there is a vaccine or some kind of shot to get rid of it. People would go sex crazy.
@johnny0313x Perhaps when you have a PhD in virology or practice HIV medicine you can comment on the degree of difficulty inherent in developing a cure or vaccine for HIV-AIDS. Developing novel treatments isn’t like banging out a song on American Idol. It takes decades of meticulous research and billions of dollars to develop a new drug.
As its stands, the medical community has successfully eradicated smallpox and nearly eradicated polio (two other notorious viruses). Moreover, the three-drug cocktails for HIV are very effective at treatment. In third world countries these are being produced cheaply, off patent, and hundreds of thousands of lives are being saved.
Shilolo: I have tapped out on GAs for you. Pity.
MY cancer treatment was designed for me and discussed with three oncologists. I had a lumpectomy and nodal removal, then another lumpectomy to clean out the margins, four rounds of chemo and staged radiation daily for five weeks. Then five years on an oral drug, Tamoxifin. I have yearly exams, mammos, and paps and watch diet, attitude and exercise.
This is not a hocus-pocus simple cure. I have been in remisssion for almost 13 years. And there are new drugs, ideas and double-blind studies going on all the time. I was on one for Taxil, but ended up with the placebo.
I have family and friends who are struggling with complicated treatments for Multiple Myeloma, Lymphoma, Pancreatic, brain, ovarian, liver and colon cancer. The list goes on and on.
@gailcalled Of course, the medical conspiracy theorists will say that the reason these regimens are so complex, and take so much time to sort out is because the nefarious drug companies, in cahoots with doctors, the NIH, and the FDA are trying to drag out treatments (and not give salt tablets as “cures”) so as to maximize profits. Have I effectively summarized the “thought process”?
If I believed that my surgeon removed the tumor from my head for a few bucks, and not to save my life, I’m not sure I’d ever sleep again. As much as I’m open to listening to the next great conspiracy theory I must say your theory, johnny0313x is full of holes. Thank you very much shilolo for sharing your knowledge & experience!
@shilolo…I believe that man has set foot on the moon…that JFK was killed by a lone gunman…I even belive in Santa…Do I believe that our system is not capable of the dickery mentioned above? I can’t say…perhaps you should ask a Tukeegee airman. Are all doctors, pharmacists, nurses, or any other member of the medical community corrupt? absolutely not. Are survivors, who fought for their lives without giving up, some of the bravest folks alive. Yes. Everything has a duality to it. Individually, people are beautiful. Big money, big money, and big money are disgusting…but most times, so is the truth.
There are several for Tuskegee Airman that teach at the flight center in Columbia; what should I be asking them Blondesjon? And certainly not all corporations with big money are disgusting. Your generalizations are confusing.
@by the bay…I apologize…our government has never lied to us, nor have they ever cavorted amongst the clandestine. As for what you should ask the Tuskeegee airmen…syphillis
and big money, big money, and big money are disgusting. They are making “searching” for a cure their mission statement and bottom line when a cure should be free.
@Blondesjon: I never said the government has never lied to it’s people or behaved clandestinely. You appear to be one of those hackneyed naysayers that will seek out the negative in most anything that’s large, corporate or gov’t., which is your prerogative. There’s something so boring in an individual that just seeks out opportunities to be egregious. The government’s (everywhere)are run by people, human beings, period. They are not unique, special or even wonderful except they are willing to be bold and to lead. Even those that choose a life of leadership, come with no guarantee they will be good at it. After all, they are just people. And all people, whether in leadership rolls or not, are flawed. But throughout history there have been many stellar leaders, many who have defied the wrongs and stood for the people and fought for our rights and for justice. I will not vilify our entire government or live in a state of paranoia to appease shock-seekers such as yourself. Indians, Jews, Blacks, Whites, Soldiers and Civilians; there have been human atrocities throughout time. I don’t profess an understanding of the rationale.
As for the medical profession and big corporations; you stated “a cure should be free”. Who in fact should pay for that cure? Who in fact should pay for the materials, years and years of research, hospitals, labs, technicians, researchers, etc? Who should pay for that? Who pays girlofscience to continue to learn? Does a drug manufacturer have an agenda to push their drug vs. another – of course. Because they’ve paid for years of clinical research and testing and studies and trials…they are a business. Are they withholding information at the cost of humans lives to fill their coffers a bit more, I doubt it. The next time you find yourself sick or even hospitalized; take a good look around. Who developed that x-ray machine; who manufactures that antibiotic cream or pill you are given; who did the research on the medicine that may very well save your life? I wonder who developed the medicines and technology that are saving cak; saved gailcalled, gallileogirl, and myself? They must surely have been money grubbing idiots. Thank God for the corporations that backed them. And as for large corporations being the evil demi-gods and the scourge of the earth; look around your home. And that said, I hope you live in a tee-pee and not a home manufactured in any way by a corporation, and I hope you weave your own clothes from cotton you grow and not from cotton grown and milled by a large corporation, and where did that coffee come from that you made in that coffee maker this morning. Is there evil and wrong doing everywhere, yes. Can you toss that blanket indiscriminately and without care, no. Hypocrisy is ugly and evil, utopia is fictional, and that’s not a prevarication or a government backed study.
@bythebay…As I previously stated I believe the men and women on the front lines, the doctors, nurses, etc. are doing their very best every day. I just think it is naive to think that coporate board meetings are about how to best serve “us”. Where should the money come from? Hmmm….how about from the billions and billions of dollars we have dumped into Iraq? How about the billions we bailed the banks and auto makers, AUTO MAKERS, out with? I said before that I don’t belive in alien cover ups or Bigfoot. But to believe that a group of very wealthy politicians and CEO’s have our best interests at heart is rediculous.
@bythebay…and for the record, I am an exceptional hypocrite.
@bythebay. If you are going to cast aspersions at the medical profession-pharmaceutical industry, at least get your facts straight. The Tuskegee Syphillis study was initiated well before the recruitment and development of the Tuskegee Airmen. I know it serves your purpose more to make it seem like men who selflessly served their country were then betrayed by the medical profession, but that just isn’t true.
Beyond that, I’ll go back to my statement that people with no knowledge of medicine or science should avoid criticism based solely on conjecture and paranoia. It is obscene to think that a company would hide a cure for a disease simply to make more money. For example, think of stomach ulcers. Years ago, people died from ruptured ulcers or needed serious surgery. Then, with the advent of H2 blockers, proton pump inhibitors and antibiotics for H. pylori, we now can treat people before they need an emergency operation or die. That is just one of thousands of examples of modern cures for old diseases. The list is huge (meningitis, pneumonia, skin infections, heart attacks, kidney failure, organ transplantation, etc. etc.). The fact that so many people are alive today to comment on this site is a testament to medicine, since 150 years ago the average lifespan was 40, as opposed to nearly 80 today. Guess the corporations just want people to live longer so they can milk them for more money?????
@shilolo…bythebay is on your side. I am the one casting the aspersions. To the both of you: you make very impassioned pleas for you case and you both seem to be thoughtful, intelligent individuals. But please note that at no time have I labled you in any way for your beliefs. Perhaps that’s just me being paranoid, hackneyed, and egregious.
@Blondesjon It is the corporations duty as an accredited American corporation to do business and make revenue. It is not optional. When a company becomes accredited, it must make sure that it can succeed and not fold. As for bailout money, the market for cars has been dwindling, but there will ALWAYS be a market for health care, even during a recession.
@zack…Since when are corporations held responsible for anything ?!? Just because they tell you to drink the kool-aid doesn’t mean you have to. Some of the most vocal critics of our current health system, from insurance companies to, yes, pharmecutical companies, are doctors. I’ve never once said that modern medicine doesn’t help people. I said that the folks who run the show don’t have the purest of motives.
The main purpose of corporations is to maximize returns to the shareholders. This article is very relevant to this discussion.
@zack… Sorry. I don’t accept all the Bill Gates, phsychobabble bullshit.
If you’re going to be this stubborn and arrogant, there is no point of me arguing with you, and I would just be wasting my time. Goodbye.
@Mtl_zack: Blondesjon never said he was stupid and arrogant; look above. He said he was a paranoid, hackneyed, egregious, hypocrite.
@Blondesjon: I just have to ask; who’s psychobabble bullshit do you accept? What is your source for your facts & beliefs?
@bythebay…Isn’t it obvious. I’m like everyone else. I prefer my own personal brand of bullshit. The bullshit one uses to get him/herself through the day. I feel that everyone is becoming agitated by my being in this thread and that was not my intention. The “I don’t accept…” statement I threw at Zack was a little dig at him for the way I had seen him answer someone else’s opinion. Again, peace :)
@Blondesjon: We’re all entitled to our opinions and our own personal brand of BS; I’m just trying to understand where you’re coming from. Because you seem very strongly rooted in your beliefs, I’d like to try and understand your commitment.
@bythebay…I’ve been called cynical many, many times. I prefer to think of myself as a realist. I see the world going to hell all around us and yet nobody seems to be too concerned about it. It’s like
some vauge apathy has set into our social mindset and although we’re worried in a detatched, academic way, we also seem to feel that ‘someone’ else will take care of the problem. I don’t claim to be above it. In fact I am only one more piece of the problem but with enough self awareness to see that I am. This is not just about a non-caring government or ‘evil’ pharmecutical companies. It’s about a populace that has so bought into the bullshit that even though they know it’s wrong they will tear you apart if you attack it. Another example? Try telling someone to give up their tv, not just the programming, but everything with a video screen. This means computers, Internet phones and iPods, and video games. Ask someone to give that up for a month and 9 times out of 10 you will be told that it’s just not possible. Not that it would be hard, not that it might pose a challenge, IT WOULD BE IMPOSSIBLE. This is called conditioning and it’s done to us so well that we don’t even know it.
@Blondesjon: Thank you for sharing your perspective; it helps me to better understand some of the things you’ve said.
Re: blondsjon, see “bread and circuses.”
@blondsjon: I have no iPod, iPhone, video games, internet phones, cable or dish…a computer from 2004 and two CRT TVs from 1986 (that doesn’t have the electronics to support a DVD player even with a converter box) and 1991 that I rarely watch. I keep a cell phone with 50 minutes/month for car emergencies here in the wilds. I have never had an incoming call on it. What does that have to do with curing cancer?
“Bullshit psychobabble” I find self-referencing and therefore without meaning.
(psst—use breaks to garner more readers. I glaze over with masses of text.)
@gail…I agree that the entire thread has gone off the rails.
I just wanted to, by example, show that I believe a broken health care system is merely a symptom of a much broader, far reaching problem.
@kevbo…Will do…If you haven’t, check out the film The Mosquito Coast.
@gail…is this better? And I don’t see how the antiquity of your electronics equipment denotes any less a reliance.
I’d say more a convenience than a reliance. We had a 6 day power-outage and survived. The frigid temps make it difficult but still, we managed.
I would be in trouble without language and books, I agree. How far back in time should one go?
@gail…Perhaps you and I could literally go back in time. We could convince Mr. Baird to change his field to oncology.
@gail…John Logie Baird was one of the pioneers in the creation of the television. I’d go back to Marconi but I have nothing against the radio.
In fact I would love to find and old vacuum tube Philco.
Are you picking an arbitrary date on the time line? The wheel, discovery of fire, Newton’s laws, calculus, Pasteur, Mendel, Bessemer, Henry Ford, Werner von Braun, J.Robert Oppenheimer? Who decides?
Ok, there is no worry to this world to you up there, im gonna start out like that. God gave us faith, Hope, patientience, and science. We all need to use these things in our life. The thing with cancer is on how our healthy normal cells, and cancer cells communicate to each other. Our bodys need the molecules to create protiens, and carbohydrates for our “NORMAL HEALTHY CELLS” to communicate. what most people dont realize is that we all inhabit cancer cells. Cancer cells can be in your brain in your bicep, your sphenoidal sinus. A cell needs a protein and a carbohydrate to communicate via cell to cell. Proteins send the communication from one cell, and carbohydrates trigger theses proteins to recieve and send enformation. As all of us should be educated enough to know that there are strong cells that give nutrients, and energy to weak cells. Now cancer cells do exactly the same thing except, Healthy non- cancer cells do not take in this communication of energy, or molecules from cancer cells. This is what us Doctors like to call cell to cell immunity. the cancer cell will survive for short periods of time. Now when we develope cancer, and it only in a certain part of our body, this happens because when a lung cancer cell sends a signal out and a healthy cell takes in the nutrients, then via sends more information to the other cells. Most the time other cells will not take in the signal, there for making the two infected cells starve or stay dorment. But what happens with lung cancer is we take in nicotine or other cell changing molecules such as caratine, oftenly found in energy drinks, creitine, Guamine, L-caratine, glucosamine etc. The over usage of these oftenly mutate cell to cell communication. For some reason it makes cell to cell communication easy for the cells. This is why these drugs relieve stress, open up vessels, make you build muscle quicker. The thing thats genetic about it is if the cells mutate easy with the support of these drugs. But when these cancer cells mutate and our healthy cells mutate, this means our cell to cell immunity has decreased from homeostasis. the trick to curing cancer, is finding a cure to evolution? Which is close. the cure for cancer is around the corner. we at university hospital in denver can now tell you if kemotheropy is even gonna work. just by a blood sample, and a MRI. But the truth to it is we need to have stem cell research to find the next piece of the puzzle.
Love Life,
DR.FROYEN
Pediatric Cardiologist.
@dfroyen50 Huh? That wasn’t quite a cogent argument or explanation. There are no such things as strong or weak cells, no such thing a cell to cell immunity (I’m an immunologist), energy drinks are not mutagens, and “a cure for evolution” as a cure for cancer just doesn’t make sense.
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