• Question: why haven't we beaten cancer

    Asked by Lucas_27 to Craig, Laura, Partha, Saffron on 24 Jun 2015.
    • Photo: Craig Doig

      Craig Doig answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      Cancer is not one type of disease – it depends upon the organ it has come from and what caused it as well as other things.

      Also its very complicated and how it develops is still uncertain.

      I think we are getting better at dealing/treating with it .. we are now more likely to survive and for longer if we do get it.

      Progress is slow but everyday we get closer and closer.

    • Photo: Laura Wales

      Laura Wales answered on 24 Jun 2015:

      There are so many different types of cancer and cancer-causing cell changes can happen really quickly. Cancer is a very complex disease. There are common themes such as uncontrolled cell growth/division, evasion of programmed cell death (apoptosis), new blood supply to the tumour, escaping the immune system, getting through the blood or lymphatic system and spreading to other parts of the body. With all these different stages, there is a lot to research.

      We haven’t beaten yet it but there are certainly more effective treatment options than there used to be. I have noticed that the drug combinations used in chemotherapy have changed because trials have shown them to be more effective and show less side-effects.

      Stem cell therapy looks promising. Overall, because cancer is such a complicated disease and it can affect pretty much every part of the body, it was always going to take a long time to find a cure. There is also the issue of funding for research.

      Things have come a long way and the prognosis of various cancers is a lot better than it was before. Apart from tailoring chemo/radiotherapy to the individual patient, I think that raising awareness of what to look out for is vital.

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