I’ve been lucky: nobody in my family has cancer. But my friends throughout life have not been so lucky, and I’ve seen them lose people--including parents that I was close to, too--to different types of cancers. So while I haven’t always followed cancer research closely, I’ve cared about the issue for a long time and donate to cancer research when I can afford to.
But I have to admit, I don’t really know if we’re actually making any progress. I know there are many different types of cancer, and that it’s hard to give a general answer, but can the experts give me a sense of how close we are to curing cancer?
Cancer has long been one of our most deadly threats, and, unfortunately, it remains a massive health threat. Cancer kills nearly 600,000 Americans each year, and it appears in many different forms, attacking everything from bone marrow to skin cells.
The diversity of its forms makes cancer a challenging disease to tackle. Treatments that help battle one type of cancer may not help against others, yet cancers do all have some things in common, so there is reason to hope that large enough breakthroughs may help sufferers of all different forms of cancer.
We have not, of course, cured cancer. But the answer to your question is not all bad news: the truth is, there has been a lot of progress made in fighting cancer. The overall cancer death rate in the US has dropped by 23% over the past 21 years, as more patients see their diseases go into remission and live longer lives with cancer. So while cancer is still incurable, modern patients are more likely to battle it into remission, enjoy a higher quality of life, and live longer, say the practitioners at Connecticut-based Regional Cancer Care.
And progress is still being made. New medications are being researched all the times, say the pharmaceutical product consultants at Global Regulatory Partners. Experimental treatments are giving some patients hope, and such trials are laying the groundwork for reliable treatments for future patients. And researchers continue to work constantly in search of new breakthroughs.
There is much left to do, and you can help. Your commitment to donating to cancer research is an admirable one. We can each help by donating to a trustworthy cancer charity today.
“Some days there won’t be a song in your heart. Sing anyway.”
-- Emory Austin