Originally Posted By: GROUCHO MARX
The only REAL advance in treating cancer has been diagnostic.
Early diagnosis increases your chances for survival. In most other cases, you live a few months longer than you would have in the 1940s in spite of billions in research dollars spent.
That's not actually true. Since the 70's, five-year survival rates have soared for some types of cancer like breast cancer and skin cancer, a direct result of earlier detection and better treatment. The problem is that "cancer" is actually about 200 different diseases. Some are almost benign like CLL and some types of prostate cancer where you'll die of something else before it kills you. Others are very aggressive or just plain hard to reach like pancreatic cancer or brain cancer.
The key is to find cancer and treat it before it spreads. Once it has metastasized, it's very hard to manage. The concept of management is important, too. After all, cancer doesn't kill you directly, it's the side effects that do the damage, so even if there's no cure, suppressing it can let you can live for years.
I've been a volunteer with the Canadian Cancer Society for 15 years - board member, treasurer, board chair, etc. It's a battle that I care about and that I've helped to wage. It doesn't cost anything to be a volunteer and you can make a difference. If you don't like what cancer has done to your family, friends and co-workers, get involved with your local, state or national charity and do something about it.