If there was such a thing as a “Jeanie in a bottle” and I could get just one wish…I would wish that cancer would be eradicated. Even though there are many life-stealing diseases…there is none quite like cancer. It can sneak up on people and take life so quickly….or even worse; it can linger and drain away life slowly. And sometimes, even if a person is cured, cancer can leave after-effects, or leave a person wondering when it will come back.
I am continually baffled about why scientists and physicians can’t find a cure for this horrible disease. Does it require more funding? Do we need smarter people looking at the causes? When I read that our government wants to spend billions of dollars to spruce up federal buildings or introduce more education on sexually transmitted diseases…I can’t help but wonder could the extra money have helped in finding a cure for cancer? Perhaps funding is not the answer. Perhaps cancer is a disease that will always elude even the greatest of minds. But shouldn’t we spend all possible dollars to know for sure?
Posted by Patricia Kirby, Editor Radius Magazine at 5:14:17 PM, EST
Comments
Martha said...
Yes, money toward research makes more sense.
Patricia
said...
Thank you Dr. Grossan for shedding more light on this subject. I am sure that many of us were not aware of these restrictions and handicaps. It seems that government could better serve the people by cracking down on some of these frivolous lawsuits and telling the tree huggers and animal lovers to get priorities straight. I absolutely love animals, but if it comes to research that will cure my child verses inflicting pain on a rat…guess which one I will choose? I also would not want to be the one having to experiment on animals, but I’m sure glad someone is willing to take that challenge, and I am positive that the many men and women who have survived cancer because of disease killing drugs are glad also.
9:43:12 AM, EST on 11/18/2009
Murray Grossan, M.D.
said...
Actually cancer research is severely hampered in this country. Stem cell researchers have fled to Singapore to carry on their work. People who "love animals" torch or destroy research laboratories. It cost 10x more to do a study here because of huge restrictions and paperwork and the need for more security from the "animal lovers."
Another restriction to developing cancer drugs is that after spending 800 million dollars to develop the drug, because of the very restricted patent, the company is forced to charge high fees to make this up before the patent expires. Meantime the government complains about the high cost of the drug and the lawyers advertise to find any means to sue the manufacturer.
An even worse defect is our utter failure to make vaccines! Can you appreciate that we are dependent on foreign manufactureres to provide us with H1N1 vaccines! None are made here!!! We spend Billions for defense and yet more people will die from H1N1 than from any recent attacks or fighting because no one here is able to manufacture vaccines. This is a deplorable situation. Write to your senator . Maybe we will be better prepared next time.
12:53:49 AM, EST on 11/18/2009
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