Current Events > Do you believe that scientists will ever be able to cure cancer?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Could cancer be the disease where the most money has been spent on research to cure it?

They probably could, but republicans and Big Pharma would never actually let it happen in a million years.

Absolutely

rexcrk posted...

They probably could, but republicans and Big Pharma would never actually let it happen in a million years.

They wont be able to stop it from happening. But they can stop it from being affordable to the masses.

rexcrk posted...

They probably could, but republicans and Big Pharma would never actually let it happen in a million years.

There are countries outside the US

Cancer isn't one thing.

There are cancers that they can cure now, if caught early enough (same applies to most diseases).

Eventually they will. Probably not as soon as people would like, but unless humanity collapses I think it'll be cured within 1000 years at worst.

I'm not holding my breath.

manhookcardoor posted...

I'm not holding my breath.

why?

manhookcardoor posted...

I'm not holding my breath.

You aren't?

EndOfDiscOne posted...

There are countries outside the US

Conservatives are a plague even outside the US

I think they could. I'm however cynical that they will ever be allowed to for the benefit of people like you and me.

Some big money goes into cancer care right now. I'm too cynical that big money won't lobby against any kind of cheaper and safer way to save lives.

NatsuSama posted...

I think they could. I'm however cynical that they will ever be allowed to for the benefit of people like you and me.

Some big money goes into cancer care right now. I'm too cynical that big money won't lobby against any kind of cheaper and safer way to save lives.

Really? Do maybe most people believe this?

ai123 posted...

Cancer isn't one thing.

There are cancers that they can cure now, if caught early enough (same applies to most diseases).

This.

When people talk about a cure for cancer its generally from a lack of understanding.

UT1999 posted...

Really? Do maybe most people believe this?

Yes, too many people believe this conspiracy theory. It's kind of sad tbh.

Full_Pokedex posted...

Yes, too many people believe this conspiracy theory. It's kind of sad tbh.

oh you think the idea is insane? i really don't believe it. Why do many people believe it though?

Dr Sebi di-*gets shot*

No, because cancer isn't some monolithic disease like that.

UT1999 posted...

Why do many people believe it though?

I'd like to know as well. My sister also thought like that and I was like 'wow that's jaded'.

What makes this different than the other diseases we've already eradicated?

Blue_Thunder posted...

What makes this different than the other diseases we've already eradicated?

The amount of money being made today on treating cancer vs curing it. In a pure capitalist society, the medical industry is incentivized to maintain a long-time "customer" (the patient) vs curing and making that person a one-time customer. If tomorrow we had a treatment cycle that cured all cancers, Big Pharma would stand to lose a great deal of money almost regardless of how much the cure treatment cost.

Edit: I don't personally subscribe to that theory. I think the coverup needed would be too big. I also can't completely rule it out. A lot of things have happened here in the US the last several years that I never would have dreamed of in my wildest imagination.

Yes, I think eventually we'll be able to overcome most if not all cancers.

I think most people who think there would be a giant cover up mostly just don't understand the structure and process of the scientific community.

The idea that there's weird scientist cabals beholden their benefactors is just very divorced from reality.

I believe we'll likely find cures to most if not all cancers eventually.

If you're jaded, remember that cancer takes a lot of people out of the workforce. The government wouldn't want that.

Plus, just going to point out that we unofficial consider "the public" to be Phase 4 trials.
So "the rich" do have a self serving purpose to want medical treatments / medications to be widely available to the public.

Curing cancer would mean a whole lot of extra people sticking around for a lot longer. Any downsides to that?

rexcrk posted...

They probably could, but republicans and Big Pharma would never actually let it happen in a million years.

To be fair big corporations keep putting more chemicals out there that cause it so it would be an endless loop if they did come up with a cure.

No one has to cover it up, moneyed interests just have to kill it with misinformation campaigns like they did nuclear power

[LFAQs-redacted-quote]

Hell, if a cure for cancer existed, that would likely incentivize the capitalists to lobby for the loosening or outright removal of regulations against carcinogens, arguing that such regulations were no longer necessary, since cancer could now be easily cured. They could cut costs with stuff like waste disposal and make money off of people buying one-use cancer cures when they inevitably got exposed to stuff that fucked up their cells' replication. They'd screw us coming and going then.

Scientists can only do so much I believe

and I think the 3 common cancers are breast, prostate, and lung cancer

I am trying to stop smoking by using nicotine gum and snuff tbh

looking back it wasnt all good

I swear I read something on this very board in the last two days about a clinical trial currently ongoing where they have a cancer-killing drug that has no side effects in... dogs and mice? ...at up to 6x the necessary dosage to work.

It could literally mean a cure for cancer in our lifetimes. Maybe not soon enough for most of us to use it... but in our lifetimes.

But I'm out and on mobile right now, which means the search function doesn't work at all.

They already have, just being held back for treatment profit

DnDer posted...

I swear I read something on this very board in the last two days about a clinical trial currently ongoing where they have a cancer-killing drug that has no side effects in... dogs and mice? ...at up to 6x the necessary dosage to work.

It could literally mean a cure for cancer in our lifetimes. Maybe not soon enough for most of us to use it... but in our lifetimes.

But I'm out and on mobile right now, which means the search function doesn't work at all.

Found it.

https://gamefaqs.gamespot.com/boards/400-current-events/80542475

They cure cancers in people every day now. I am one of them.

I think we will be able to cure most, if not all cancers if they are discovered quick enough. People will still die if they wait so long it has progressed to 4th stage though.

No because Cancer isn't a singular type... there are more than 100 known cancers that affect humans.

The_Yahtz09 posted...

The amount of money being made today on treating cancer vs curing it. In a pure capitalist society, the medical industry is incentivized to maintain a long-time "customer" (the patient) vs curing and making that person a one-time customer. If tomorrow we had a treatment cycle that cured all cancers, Big Pharma would stand to lose a great deal of money almost regardless of how much the cure treatment cost.

Edit: I don't personally subscribe to that theory. I think the coverup needed would be too big. I also can't completely rule it out. A lot of things have happened here in the US the last several years that I never would have dreamed of in my wildest imagination.

I don't think this theory is particularly real. Doesn't hold up under scrutiny. A dead patient incurs zero medical cost. There's a lot of people who die between 40-60 from cancer and from a capitalist POV it doesn't make sense to milk someone for like $100-$200k once in their life when you can treat them for all kinds of age related issues later and make much more money long term. They would definitely cure cancer if they could.

Full_Pokedex posted...

Yes, too many people believe this conspiracy theory. It's kind of sad tbh.

Big business doing scummy things for the sake of endless profit isnt a conspiracy theory.

That said, as someone said a few days ago, it would make sense for such a thing to be as widely available as possible because thats where the profit is.

Yes and it should be pretty simple eventually. Like run a gene test to find the malfunction that caused it, patch it with gene therapy. Get the immune system to recognize the cancer. Regenerative med for organs it damaged.

We are already doing some of this, but most of the current paradigm is tinkering with inhibiting molecules that feed into that type of cancer and a few other things that won't make revolutionary progress.

They have come up with cures for several kinds of cancer already.

Krojen posted...

Yes and it should be pretty simple eventually. Like run a gene test to find the malfunction that caused it, patch it with gene therapy. Get the immune system to recognize the cancer. Regenerative med for organs it damaged.

We are already doing some of this, but most of the current paradigm is tinkering with inhibiting molecules that feed into that type of cancer and a few other things that won't make revolutionary progress.

None of that is "simple" and not every cancer has identifiable proteins that the immune system can attack.

The real answer long term is to trick cancer cells into killing themselves like they're supposed to.

There's a drug in stage 1 human trials that is doing exactly this and works on 70 different cancers.

I just heard about a new pill that targets a protein that only cancer cells have, leaving the healthy cells alone. It worked like a charm in animal testing with an absurdly high success rate and is now in human trials.
https://nypost.com/2023/08/02/new-cancer-hope-as-pill-kills-tumors-thanks-to-little-girl/

HOON posted...

I just heard about a new pill that targets a protein that only cancer cells have, leaving the healthy cells alone. It worked like a charm in animal testing with an absurdly high success rate and is now in human trials.
https://nypost.com/2023/08/02/new-cancer-hope-as-pill-kills-tumors-thanks-to-little-girl/

@Slayer_22 you were right I think

Tyranthraxus posted...

None of that is "simple" and not every cancer has identifiable proteins that the immune system can attack.

The real answer long term is to trick cancer cells into killing themselves like they're supposed to.

There's a drug in stage 1 human trials that is doing exactly this and works on 70 different cancers.

He asked if we will ever be able to cure it. All of what I listed would eventually be simple.

You can trick a few cells into killing themselves but the underlying cause, like a material springing genetic defects that will ensure the cancer reoccurs is still there.

I'm too burned out to have any hopes from media headlines about something that hasn't cleared phase 1. And it only claims to work on certain solid tumors in combination with current treatments. Which I desperately hope is true but we will eventually do better.

Tyranthraxus posted...

I don't think this theory is particularly real. Doesn't hold up under scrutiny. A dead patient incurs zero medical cost. There's a lot of people who die between 40-60 from cancer and from a capitalist POV it doesn't make sense to milk someone for like $100-$200k once in their life when you can treat them for all kinds of age related issues later and make much more money long term. They would definitely cure cancer if they could.

The conspiracy probably comes from the comment made regarding hiv/aids treatment vs vaccinw during an investor's meeting.

Essentially, it was argued that a lifelong trt was more profitable vs a single vaccine regimen.

If civilization doesn't collapse before then, yes.

not sure

They already have...

Jagr_68 posted...

They already have...

not the major ones that get the most press, though

I think so.