Are we winning the War on Cancer?
In my blog post, I write about the incremental progress we're making on the "War on Cancer."
What do you think?
Is this an outdated phrase and mindset?
Do you find that members of your community refer to the "War on Cancer"?
How do you feel about advances in cancer research and treatments? Are we making a difference?
What's the best way to reframe this conversation?
How can you reach out to more people in the cancer community to help reinforce the progress?
Let's discuss!
What do you think?
Is this an outdated phrase and mindset?
Do you find that members of your community refer to the "War on Cancer"?
How do you feel about advances in cancer research and treatments? Are we making a difference?
What's the best way to reframe this conversation?
How can you reach out to more people in the cancer community to help reinforce the progress?
Let's discuss!
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Casey Quinlan -MightyCaseyMedia on
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The focus needs to shift from cure to detection - cancer is a living organism, evolving and mutating constantly. The billions of dollars thrown at finding cures would be much better spent on developing successful detection protocols, particularly for the "get your affairs in order" nasty-grams like pancreatic, ovarian, and lung cancer.
Look at the drop in breast cancer mortality rates ushered in with the annual mammogram (in spite of the US Preventive Services Task Force, who seem to think that a few thousand women's deaths each year are acceptable), and the impact of colonoscopy in early detection of colon cancer. We need to support research into finding cancer early, not curing it.
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Permalink Reply by Alicia C. Staley on -
Yes! I agree. I think we're at a tippinig point - it's time to begin focusing more on prevention. The medical system has been focused on reactive treatments for too long. You're right... it's now time to move on to finding cancer as early as possible, and using the minimal amount of treatment to heal the patient.
Thanks for joining WEGO Health and adding your voice to this conversation! Alicia
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Permalink Reply by uvmer on -
Lets not lump cancer all into one ball. Is there effective early screening for pancreatic cancer? I don't know. There is not for kinds of brain cancer unless you are going to give MRIs yearly. Heck they don't even want to do yearly mammograms now...do you think yearly MRIs for brain cancer are going to get a warm reception? Okay, so shift some of the money from curing to early detection for those cancers that can be easily detected early and have effective treatments, but the others really need money to find treatments....to give hope where there is presently almost none.
"We need to support research into finding cancer early, not curing it." ...that is just the type of statement that moves the collective train of thought away from the less publicly supported cancers without the "big celebrity voices" that desperately need financial support and public awareness to help researchers find a way to raise the survival rate above the current 3%. Although cancer is dynamic and mutates, don't lump them or the progess we have made is treating it into one group. FIGHT CANCER...don't just look for it. If the money hadn't been put into cures, it wouldn't matter how early you would have found it. CRUSH CANCER.....ALL CANCER...AND DON'T FORGET BRAIN CANCER (Its on the rise, by the way...we might want to pay attention)
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Permalink Reply by George H. on -
I just read an interesting article about cancer treatments and evolution. I assumed that because cancer isn't contagious like a virus that the evolution of the disease was a non-factor, but the article states:
"Our current 'shock and awe' approach to treatment may not be the best thing to do -- we're leaving behind small populations of highly resistant cells.
This course may, in turn, contribute to the development of intractable cancer recurrences. Because it is nearly impossible to kill every single cancerous cell in the body, those that survive the stress of chemotherapy and radiation often have undergone mutations that render them resistant to traditional treatments, capable of rapid reproduction and therefore exceedingly dangerous."
Full article: http://www.princeton.edu/engineering/news/archive/?id=1906
I knew that this was obviously a problem in contagious diseases because when we do this, we are essentially breeding superviruses, but since cancer is a self-contained disease, it went right over my head that the evolution could make it resistant to traditional treatments.
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Permalink Reply by uvmer on
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On top of this...even with early detection, surgery may not be a viable option with brain cancer. Treatment then is essential. And when doing surgery you can't remove surrounding tissue for good measure. Please don't make sweeping statements...
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Permalink Reply by Alicia C. Staley on
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I feel an emphasis on prevention and detection would benefit ALL cancers. A reactive approach to cancer is the model we currently deal with in terms of treatment - that isolates cancer into "groups". Perhaps more research into how a cancer cell forms, regardless of it's location and type, will provide breakthroughs in brain, lung, and colon cancer. There isn't enough emphasis on how the cancer STARTS.... most studies and research focus on what to do once the cancer has compromised an area of the body. We can work together to raise awareness for Brain Cancer.
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Permalink Reply by uvmer on
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Again...I agree that emphasis on prevention and detection are certainly very important...and the recent reports against mammograms and self-exams are ridiculous. Paying attention to diet and factors we control in our everyday lives is critical. And when you say prevention...do you mean RESEARCH on genetics and how cancer starts or do you mean educational materials against smoking and more fiber in the diet. Two very different things, and depending on your audience that word "prevention" is perceived differently. And "prevention" for brain tumors...well there isn't really any, unless you are accepting cell phone effects .So if that is what you mean by "prevention"...then there could be "prevention" for brain tumors. From what I understand there is no "prevention" for brain cancer in that context of "prevention"....and I don't know what "prevention" there can be for some of the other extremely deadly cancers out there. So again, I caution against sweeping statements like that unless you have qualified your audience. The general public out there think of prevention differently than those of us in the "cancer world" and think of prevention as cutting down on fatty foods and adding more fiber. And many of those people are ones donating money to cancer causes.
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Permalink Reply by George H. on
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Good points.
I never thought of that- how would "early detection" work with brain cancer? It would be a big task to have everyone get MRIs frequently, right?
I have heard of mobile MRI units, but I think people would have the same issues that they have with AIDS tests. It is easier to not go and check because if you get tested and it turns out you do have it, your whole world changes. If you procrastinate and deny the problem, you can put off the bad news. It might not be smart, but it's how we think sometimes.
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