Medical News? re: cancer cure

[CRLLS]

I thought I was giving the Cliff Notes version of the OP's news link. At least that was my Layman's take on the article. Is that any different than Car-T?

Is Car-t $$ ( I suspect so) and not currently covered by major insurance? Maybe that was your comment in reference to?

P.S. I know nothing about cancer treatment or any other medical treatments. I'm just trying to stay somewhat informed.

 

[Rianne]

I am totally with Aerides on this.

Rianne, do you know anyone who works in an oncology department? My son and his wife both work in oncology (he is a BCOP, she is radiation therapist/dosimeter), and nothing would make them happier than to see a cure for this horrible disease. They would find work in other areas, though there might be a period of adjustment for them.

It's really extremely insulting to suggest these good, hard working, caring people would put their current jobs ahead of a cure for this disease. They see the devastation and pain that it causes every single day.

Community rules have me holding back, so I will just say : Shame on you.


-ERD50

I can only respond with my personal experience, ERD50.

-3 cancer diagnosis in 28 years.
-First in 1995, then a second in 1996 as an aggressive lesion.
The oncologist and surgeon pressured (I do not say this lightly) to receive a double mastectomy, reconstructive surgery removing skin from other parts of the body, chemotherapy, radiation.
-In 1996 we were moving to Elmhurst. We found a highly recommended surgeon in Chicago, through business contacts and relatives of Susan G Komen Foundation. This surgeon examined all my records, scans, communications with pathologist etc. determined my lesions tubular. A very slow growing cancer, that was removed prior to the consultation. His recommendation "wait and see." Do not go with aggressive treatment. No recurrence until 2011. Mammograms and follow up only.



-2011, diagnosis < 1 mm lesion discovered in mammogram. The suggested treatment, double mastectomy, chemotherapy, radiation. I requested an Oncotype pathology report which examines the pathology of the tumor. The result gave a <2% recurrence in my lifetime. The surgeon and oncologist, we were living in Michigan this time, still recommended the aggressive treatments. I agreed to single mastectomy, no chemo, no radiation. The pressure to get intense, aggressive treatment was almost unbearable. My DH said he felt like he was in a hard sell meeting. It was my choice and I stuck to my guns. This is my life and I'll suffer what ever consequences I deserve.



-During this time, I decided to get a 2nd opinion from Loyola University Cardinal Bernadine cancer center in Maywood, IL (suburb of Chicago). The MRI results from that 2nd opinion were: metastasis to liver and sternum. This was alarming, so my surgeon in Michigan ordered: bone scan, CT scans(2) and multiple tests/blood test etc. No sign of metastasis.



-Today, healthy, cancer free, see oncologist (new one in Champaign once a year).


So, shame on me? Before you shame anyone, I suggest, kindly, you know what you're talking about. You have no clue what I went through. This was my experience, my opinions and should not influence anyone who is facing this devastating diagnosis.

 

[Exrook]

Here is a pretty good article on where the technology is and the challenges it faces going forward:


https://www.technologyreview.com/s/612268/we-can-now-customize-cancer-cures-tumor-by-tumor/


The bottom line in the article:

For now, the problems are manageable and informative because the number of patients is relatively small. But all these problems will have to be solved if the vaccines are ever to go mainstream. “You’re not going to be able to wait six months for a vaccine if you have a patient with fast-progressing pancreatic cancer,” says Kelley.
Genentech officials declined to speculate about the eventual price of the vaccine, insisting it was too early to know. “It’s going to be more expensive,” says Kelley. “This will cost us much more to make per person.”
The cost of sequencing might come down, building out a manufacturing network would increase efficiencies, and new assays might be developed, or new technologies that allow the cheaper manufacture of the vaccines themselves. “We’ve done estimates, and we feel that right now it is viable, but we would like it to become, obviously, more and more viable,” he says.
For now, though, one of the most promising advances in cancer research remains an experimental treatment. It might be a medical breakthrough, but it is facing a familiar logistical challenge: how to get the product cheaply and quickly where it needs to go.

 

[gstillson]

Yes, it is expensive. They take cells from your body and process them then reintroduce them to your system, fighting (and in a lot of cases, curing) the cancer.

I think Gilead and Celgene (well, now BMY) are some of the bigger players with therapies and it is expensive, but sort of justifiably so considering how much work and people are involved in a treatment. It might become more of a 1%'r cure. I mean, if you have $5,000,000 in the bank, would you pay $150k for a complete cure for your spouse or son/daughter?

 

[SecondCor521]

Some very expensive treatments (not sure if they're cancer treatments; I think at least one is) are now being offered by the drug companies on a "it's expensive, but you only pay if it works" basis. So you go through the treatment and survive and owe the drug company $400,000 or whatever, or it doesn't work and you owe them $0. Intriguing pricing model to me, and I'd definitely think about it if I were in that situation.

 

[bjorn2bwild]

A response to the claims made in the atrticle (OP), by the Chief Medical Officer at the ACS and a few bullet points ---

This is a news report based on limited information provided by researchers and a company working on this technology. It apparently has not been published in the scientific literature where it would be subject to review, support and/or criticism from knowledgeable peers.

My colleagues here at American Cancer Society tell me phage or peptide display techniques, while very powerful research tools for selecting high affinity binders, have had a difficult road as potential drugs. If this group is just beginning clinical trials, they may well have some difficult experiments ahead.

This is based on a mouse experiment which is described as “exploratory.” It appears at this point there is not a well-established program of experiments which could better define how this works—and may not work—as it moves from the laboratory bench to the clinic.

We all have hope that a cure for cancer can be found and found quickly. It is certainly possible this approach may be work. However, as experience has taught us so many times, the gap from a successful mouse experiment to effective, beneficial application of exciting laboratory concepts to helping cancer patients at the bedside is in fact a long and treacherous journey, filled with unforeseen and unanticipated obstacles.

It will likely take some time to prove the benefit of this new approach to the treatment of cancer. And unfortunately–based on other similar claims of breakthrough technologies for the treatment of cancer–the odds are that it won’t be successful.

A Cure For Cancer? Not So Fast | Dr. Len's Blog

 

[Offgrid Organic Farmer]

Stage-3 cancer here.

I went through radiation treatments last summer, and my hormone therapy will go on for at least one more year.

I would love to see an actual 'cure' for each type of cancer.

 

[TromboneAl]

It shouldn't be dismissed simply because it would be a miracle. Penicillin. Vaccines. Anesthesia. Germ Theory. Antiviral drugs. Medical Imaging.