One step closer....cancer research..

[Jake]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

Yes it is deverse, but it is essentially our own cells, once we find away to kill specific cells....cure. Great steps are being made in all medical science including nano technology. Have little warriors injected in your body programed to destroy only cancer cells will one day happen IMO.

Also, cancer gives off specific protiens. Currently scientists are creating a virus that will attack only the cells that have this specific protein.

There will be a cure for cancer....and I believe it will be in our life time.

We can already cure most types of cancers... for quite awhile now actually.

The virus method of attacking cancer hasn't shown nearly as much promise as other approaches. The human genome is too large. Yes we've sequenced it, but we don't know what most of it means. We need to know that in order to do use that method (to know the part of the genome that codes for the specific proteins).

[JiriHrdina]

Originally Posted by Jake

We can already cure most types of cancers... for quite awhile now actually.

What forms of cancer can we cure?

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Jake

We can already cure most types of cancers... for quite awhile now actually.

The virus method of attacking cancer hasn't shown nearly as much promise as other approaches. The human genome is too large. Yes we've sequenced it, but we don't know what most of it means. We need to know that in order to do use that method (to know the part of the genome that codes for the specific proteins).

We can't cure cancer yet, we can kill cancer cells...along with a large amount of healthy cells. It is basically hit and miss. Until it cures for every person...it is not a cure.

[MagicallyAdept]

Cancer is very diverse, i doubt there will ever be just one single drug/procedure to cure 'cancer'. Think there still isn't a cure for the common cold becuase it is too diverse and affects everyone differently.

Let's just hope one day there will be a cure for cancer. Preferably before i die of it.

Even if there is a wonder drug for cancer, there will be something else that presents a problem. Diseases change and mutate to overcome the things that try to kill them.

[FlamesAddiction]

My dad also had this kind of cancer. Although the doctors thought it would kill him, he pulled through. But the surgeries have left him in constant pain, and he lives off of morphine still.

I'm glad to see breakthroughs like this.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by MagicallyAdept

Cancer is very diverse, i doubt there will ever be just one single drug/procedure to cure 'cancer'. Think there still isn't a cure for the common cold becuase it is too diverse and affects everyone differently.

Let's just hope one day there will be a cure for cancer. Preferably before i die of it.

Even if there is a wonder drug for cancer, there will be something else that presents a problem. Diseases change and mutate to overcome the things that try to kill them.

Your right in the fact that ever cancer is differnet and would probably require a different cure. There is a big difference between cancer and a virus however. Cancer are just rogue cells and cannot adapt nearly as easy as a virus or bacteria which is good for us.

This is all from my limited knowleged however.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

We can't cure cancer yet, we can kill cancer cells...along with a large amount of healthy cells. It is basically hit and miss. Until it cures for every person...it is not a cure.

A cure is a successful treatment that kills all of the cancer cells. So yes we can cure most types a very high percentage of the time. The fact most treatments kill other body cells doesn't change that. ie... treatment of some infections use heavy metals, which is very bad for the body but is still considered a cure.

Some cancers have survivorships with treatment of over 90%, others less than 1%. A type of brain tumuor, acoustic neuroma can be cured 95% of the time. Other brain tumuor types are virtually impossable to survive.

You seem to think a cure is 100% effective. Thats not true, look up other illnesses with 'cures' and their treatment will not be 100% effective.

Cancer will not suddenly be cured one day. We've started curing it and will continue to do so for a long time.

[Jade]

I think when it comes to cancer, the idea of finding a cure may be a bit different than other diseases. There will never be one cure for all cancers, but if we look at each type of cancer with certain features as separate from other cancers, cures for these subtypes are more likely. Look at something like herceptin, which is basically a cure for estrogen receptor positive breast cancer. It will be a long time however before we get cures for all types and subtypes of cancer.

To those worried about companies not wanting a cure, to some extent that is a valid concern. There are actually several treatment drugs in clinical trials for leukemia (and one already available) that do not cure, just control the cancer. Companies really like this type of thing, because you have to keep taking the treatment for life. If this trend continues into other types of cancer, it will in the end be up to university researchers, who have less money to work with, to move from controlling to curing cancer.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Jake

A cure is a successful treatment that kills all of the cancer cells. So yes we can cure most types a very high percentage of the time. The fact most treatments kill other body cells doesn't change that. ie... treatment of some infections use heavy metals, which is very bad for the body but is still considered a cure.

Some cancers have survivorships with treatment of over 90%, others less than 1%. A type of brain tumuor, acoustic neuroma can be cured 95% of the time. Other brain tumuor types are virtually impossable to survive.

You seem to think a cure is 100% effective. Thats not true, look up other illnesses with 'cures' and their treatment will not be 100% effective.

Cancer will not suddenly be cured one day. We've started curing it and will continue to do so for a long time.

Ok...yes we can sometimes cure cancer in the truest sense of the word. Cure meaning to return to ones health. But really I don't consider flooding the boddy with radiation a cure. If someone had skin eating disease or gangren on their arm or leg, I don't think we would say we cured the disease but cutting off ones leg or arm to stop the spread. Essentially that is what we do with cancer, we kill all the cells around the area affected and hope everything dies.

[Jake]

Fair enough, but there are new treatments.

New chemo therapy drugs are coming out every year with fewer and fewer side effects. They are designed to look specifically for cancer cells, but obviously are far from perfect.

We're also able to do much more accurate radiations now to minimize cell death.

Plus treatment plans are becoming more type specific.

More people are surviving. Many cancers that were death sentences 10 years ago are now usually cured. I can understand why you're not satisfied with radiation as a treatment, but it is more often than not a very effective one.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by Jake

Fair enough, but there are new treatments.

New chemo therapy drugs are coming out every year with fewer and fewer side effects. They are designed to look specifically for cancer cells, but obviously are far from perfect.

We're also able to do much more accurate radiations now to minimize cell death.

Plus treatment plans are becoming more type specific.

More people are surviving. Many cancers that were death sentences 10 years ago are now usually cured. I can understand why you're not satisfied with radiation as a treatment, but it is more often than not a very effective one.

I agree with you 100%. If you are in the medical field keep up the good work.

[Azure]

And if you catch it soon enough...there is a VERY good chance they can get rid of it.

[FireFly]

Cancer research is something I feel strongly about since my family has hereditary cancer. My father is now battling cancer a second time, my sister passed away, my aunt passed away, my grandmother, my cousin had it removed at the age of 21... I'm familiar with the treatments.

You're right, early detection is the best way to ensure recovery. It's the reason that at 25, I've been getting colonoscopies for 7 years already. However, it's not always failsafe. This most recent battle my father is having... they found the original tumour in March. Due to a heart attack in June, they didn't get to take out the tumour until September. It's now November and the tumour (which they think they successfully removed all of in September) is back and bigger than ever already. They won't get to remove it until December 22nd as that's the first chance at operating room time my father's doctors have. Now they have to remove the entire kidney... and it's pretty much "we'll see what happens when we open him up."

Some of the problem is a lack of communication between doctors. Some of it is the system. (No room until December?! In only a month it grew to larger than it's original size and now we get to wait another month!) Either way, cancer research is the only charity I give my money to because I wouldn't wish any other family ravaged by this disease like mine has been... and yet I know they're out there.

[jolinar of malkshor]

Originally Posted by FireFly

Cancer research is something I feel strongly about since my family has hereditary cancer. My father is now battling cancer a second time, my sister passed away, my aunt passed away, my grandmother, my cousin had it removed at the age of 21... I'm familiar with the treatments.

You're right, early detection is the best way to ensure recovery. It's the reason that at 25, I've been getting colonoscopies for 7 years already. However, it's not always failsafe. This most recent battle my father is having... they found the original tumour in March. Due to a heart attack in June, they didn't get to take out the tumour until September. It's now November and the tumour (which they think they successfully removed all of in September) is back and bigger than ever already. They won't get to remove it until December 22nd as that's the first chance at operating room time my father's doctors have. Now they have to remove the entire kidney... and it's pretty much "we'll see what happens when we open him up."

Some of the problem is a lack of communication between doctors. Some of it is the system. (No room until December?! In only a month it grew to larger than it's original size and now we get to wait another month!) Either way, cancer research is the only charity I give my money to because I wouldn't wish any other family ravaged by this disease like mine has been... and yet I know they're out there.

That sucks firefly...my heart goes out to you and your family. It is a terrible and scary disease. Keep up the preventative measures and good luck.

[Jake]

Originally Posted by jolinar of malkshor

I agree with you 100%. If you are in the medical field keep up the good work.

Thanks, but I've just taken a few courses on genetics and molecular biology and was restating what my professors say.

U of C only offers a few courses on cancer specifically. One of the hardest courses in science is CMMB 561- Cancer biology. I think last year there were only 20 or so people in it.