will we ever cure cancer?

From age 13 (1985) to 15 (1987) I watched my Mom die from cancer. First major surgery followed my chemo. She died a slow and horrible death. From 2015 to 2017 I watched my Dad do the same. As before major surgery followed by chemo and a horrible prolonged death.

From my personal perspective in 30 years nothing changed. I have watched all sorts of fundraising and public funding feeding into cancer research but nothing seems to improve.

Are we doomed to repeat this endlessly?

[619TF]

Most of the successful innovating over the past few decades has been in early detection. Not a cure per se but the stats show people catching it early enough in developed to greatly decrease the mortality numbers in many types. Other types have, in fact, basically gone by the wayside thanks to this too. Remember, the term cancer is pretty general.

Terribly sorry to hear what you had to live through. I've been watching it take family members since well before the 80s which leads me to follow these things a bit as it means I'm likelier to be a candidate. Early testing is key.

[jpd]

From what I've been through and seen,(like you, doug), the prospects of a "cure" are not good.

[srick]

Doug -

Gradually, many cancers have been transformed from fatal diseases into chronic illnesses. But the biggest issue remaining is that each cancer is an individual disease, based on an individual’s genetics. Immunotherapy has achieved an incredible amount, but is not a panacea. Combined with traditional therapies like chemo and radiation, things are ‘better’.

IMO, mRNA technology and CRISPR therapy will create the next breakthroughs in cancer treatment. The crux of the matter is that cancer is not one disease, but thousands of diseases. And cancerous cells are essentially your own cells that have gone astray. So killing the cancerous cells runs the fine line of killing your own cells. Our therapies and early detection keeps nibbling away at cancer’s underpinnings, but there never has been and there will likely never be a silver bullet.

We will get there, eventually. But every cancer sufferer will have a different path.

I am sorry for your losses Doug. Death will continue to be a part of all of our lives and all we can do is accept it. My Mom was fond of saying, “Man plans, God laughs.”

Best,

Rick

[Mandobart]

My mother (who never smoked) died of lung cancer in 2003. Her mother (who smoked for over 50 years before quitting in her 70's) lived to be 97.

All my other grandparents (coal miners and smokers) died before I was born.

Cancer is real and it really sucks for those who lose their lives and loved ones to it.

But I have a lot of other friends and family members who are cancer survivors. So to them and their families, yes, there is a cure.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by 619TF

Most of the successful innovating over the past few decades has been in early detection. Not a cure per se but the stats show people catching it early enough in developed to greatly decrease the mortality numbers in many types. Other types have, in fact, basically gone by the wayside thanks to this too. Remember, the term cancer is pretty general.

Terribly sorry to hear what you had to live through. I've been watching it take family members since well before the 80s which leads me to follow these things a bit as it means I'm likelier to be a candidate. Early testing is key.

I agree with this. I go in for colonoscopy screening once every 3 years because they have found issues. My great grandfather died from colon cancer, so this is a big deal for me.

My father suffered from various skin cancers and so do I. But the kind of lesions I get are easily removed and of minimal risk today. I just have to be vigilant.

A good friend was in the hospital for GI issues, had an MRI, and they found totally by accident the beginnings of a lung cancer tumor. It could have been deadly, but they caught it early, did minimally invasive surgery, and now she is cancer free. She was so lucky.

My mother had a double mastectomy at age 80 and lived another 11 years, dying from the effects of old-age dementia. So she benefited from advances in cancer treatment.

At the same time one of my nieces just recently died from breast cancer at age 44 after a 4-year struggle and eight surgeries, leaving behind 3 children and a devastated husband. This has been heartbreaking for our whole family.

They are doing better at cancer treatment and they know more today. But cancer is still here.

- Glenn

[emtsteve]

A wonderful book on the subject is The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer by Siddhartha Mukherjee. Latter parts of the book touch on future advances in treatment, but as with most things medical, early detection and prevention are paramount.

I lost my father to lung cancer in 2014. It was difficult watching him suffer and eventually succumb to this horrible disease.

[Dru Edwards]

Doug, heart wrenching reading of your experiences with your parent's cancers, especially being young and watching what your mother went through.

I think at some point, whether in 50 years or 100 years, many cancers will be curable by replacing organs. Whether it be 3D printed organs or donated organs, I think that the replacement surgeries will become more effective with less rejections. So perhaps that isn't really a "cure" but it will free many of cancer.

As mentioned above, early detection will be key.

[steelvibe]

I lost my mom to cervical cancer in 2016 so I have a dog in this fight. Boy is this a loaded question. My answer would get me kicked off this forum.

[Silurian]

I don't know about curing cancer but I'm very confident that early detection through regular blood testing has the potential to revolutionise treatment.

Oxford University is right now trialing a blood test that can detect a range of cancers and if they have metasticised.

The revolution in genomic medicine will provide new breakthroughs in treatment.

[buddyhu]

My heart goes out to you Doug, and to anyone else who has had to watch a loved one experience a difficult death.

I anticipate more of the kinds of progress already mentioned by others: earlier detection, fewer side effects from treatments, more effective treatments, etc. I don’t expect we will see “cures”.

Not all cancer deaths are awful. Some are relatively painless, and involve a gradual weakening over a few months; this was true for both my mother (metastatic melanoma in her 80’s) and my father (aggressive prostate cancer in his 90’s). Some deaths from cancer are definitely awful…even horrific. Watched a long time friend have a painful death from metastatic lung cancer a year and a half ago.

The Death of a loved one is not usually easy to bear, even when the physical manifestations are less traumatic. If the physical manifestations are particularly distressing, well, there aren’t really words for the impression that can leave. I still remember watching my paternal grandmother die from liver cancer. More than fifty years ago, and it can still be upsetting to recall the suffering she endured in her last months.

[FLRon]

My mom had lung cancer, then breast cancer, and finally breast cancer again. After her last cancer diagnosis, she said “no more” to further radiation and chemotherapy. She died of dementia, among other things.
Count me as one who has long questioned why we still don’t have a cure.

[imwjl]

There has been progress for some types of cancer more than others.

The frustration is easy to understand. My wife had a rough run from it, her mom just died from it, and I have what will be an emotion packed event ahead today. A dear and as good as people get friend called a few of us for a bike ride that might be his last or at least last one in a while because of his cancer.

[rmp]

While there has been improvements, the biggest weapon is early detection and regular screening, Colonoscopies, endoscopies, mamo grams, stuff like that, cure seems to be just a pipe dream.


It runs in my wife's family. (Lynch Syndrome)

We've lost two younger brothers, and her dad. Another brother was caught early and thankfully found the right teams of docs and surgeons, he's been ok.

My wife has had two run ins with this. Bladder and Breast

My wife knows she's a carrier for a lynch which that leads to cancers in the digestive tack, for her it was bladder cancer.

she's screened yearly.

And yearly Mammograms caught her breast cancer very early... before it became a more severe problem. Not genetics just came out of nowhere. The doctor that discovered it was the key, anyone else would have probably missed it.

she got lucky.

But yea.. it's a horrible illness, and sometimes, the treatments are as bad as the disease.

to imwjl, sorry to hear this..

[Methos1979]

Like others have said, I believe it will slowly be more and more treatable and become a chronic condition that for better or worse you will be able to live with longer. Part of the issue is calling it just cancer like it's one thing. There are just SO many different types and stages/levels of cancers affecting many different parts of the human body's various systems, each with its own regimen of treatment. But in the end something is going to get you. The ride only goes in one direction.

What really needs to be embraced by society is death with dignity. Making people die slowly and horribly is cruel and awful for everyone. I understand that it's an issue fraught with many considerations from religious implications to financial and other quality of life concerns. But if you're the one suffering from a terminal illness and you're okay with it - and competent enough to make that decision - then there should be medically accepted and assisted procedures in place to end your life with dignity.