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Will they find a cure for cancer? If so, when?

What do they mean when they say they are trying to find a cure for cancer?

  • Like when people or who ever says they are trying to find a cure for cancer, is there something that all of the types of cancer have i common that they are trying to cure so it gets rid of every cancer? Or are they just trying to find a cure for a specific cancer like lung cancer or breast cancer?

  • Answer:

    You are wise to know that there are very different, specific diseases lumped together under the term "cancer." Most people don't have a clue that cancer is a general term for over 200 very different diseases as "Panda" says. This is a pet peeve with me. No one asks when there will be "A" cure for infections. People seem to realize that there are many types of infections. It boggles my mind that people do not realize that cancers are many specific diseases. Heck, no two people with breast cancer or lung cancer are completely alike. Breast cancers and lung cancers are not all alike. These are diseases caused by mutated body cells. Each have specific mutations. Cancers are far more complicated than most people realize. There will NEVER be "one" treatment that fixes all types of cancer in all stages in all people. Would people expect to find one antibiotic that cures beta hemolytic streptococcus, influenza, malaria, typhus, diphtheria, cholera, tuberculosis, and HIV infections? There are cures for some types of cancer now. Lance Armstrong is a very good example of a person with a widespread life threatening cancer who was cured with modern therapy and went on to win multiple Tour de France endurance bicycle races. More than half of all patients with cancers in the USA are now being cured with current therapies - usually surgery - but also radiation and chemotherapy. By the way, chemotherapy is not one thing either. We have more than 100 very different chemotherapy agents now, and we use them in combinations - so there are many hundreds of specific, different chemotherapy regimens for the hundreds of different, specific cancers in people who are each unique.

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Not sure who you mean by 'they' . . there are over 200 different types of cancer and the sad reality is that the majority of them are not being 'researched' . . only the common types of cancer such as breast, lung, pancreatic, ovarian, colon receive the amount of dollars necessary to do cancer research . . other cancers receive the 'trickle down' effect from the major funded cancers . . the idea if it works for one cancer maybe it will work for another one. The areas that lack the most in cancer research and funding continue to be childhood, adolescent, and young adult cancers.

Panda

For all cancers. Right now- chemotherapy and radiation treatments are the treatment for cancer. For instance- have you heard of stem cell research? It's new and very advanced. But the government won't fund it because they think its like killing babies (even though all it is is taking certain parts from a non developed fetus)- it's not even close to abortion but religious people think it is. If they found through stem cell research, for instance, that they could cure cancer with these treatments, then ALL cancers would be cured.

Adrienne

Well..I think all cancers are an overgrowth or excessive growth of cells...I think things like Stem cells can cure many types of cancer..but there is other research trying to cure specific types of cancer...So I think they are doing both..I really think the key is with stem cells...

Rabby

Depends who you're talking about. If the breast cancer society said they are searching for a cure then they are obviously hoping to cure breast cancer. The Canadian Cancer Society is looking for all cures. Cancers do have things in common so it could be possible to make a cure to treat every cancer, but there could also be success in curing one type.

Madeline T

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