They’ve been curing cancer for longer than I’ve been alive, but it’s also clear that the treatments over time have gotten more effective. This makes me wonder though: if a 100% effective cure (or preventative) for cancer comes around, what will be the next big goal?
If we’re talking in very general, “wishlist” ways, I would hope that a lot of the present cancer and vaccine research might make it possible in the future to correct birth defect prenatally. Things like congenital heart defects being fixed via gene editing during development versus surgically afterwards. Ditto for things like autoimmune or other inherited diseases.
if a 100% effective cure (or preventative) for cancer comes around, what will be the next big goal?
Making the cure accessible. Some cancer treatments are more effective AND much more expensive. Companies may be looking for return on investment, or the treatment is tailor-made from the patient’s own cells, and inherently labor intensive and hard to produce.
Either way, curing 100% of the richest 5% who can afford it isn’t the most satifying outcome.
I would hope this happens but who knows. It feels like making something as basic as insulin accessible is somehow controversial in the US, so it’d probably end up being accessible in other countries to cure cancer while in the US your insurance would pay $1m, never approve it for you, then max out your copay and somehow charge you more beyond that just for the consultation.
There are plenty of other horrific medical conditions without cures or significant funding into their research.
Blanking on the medical name, but there’s a disease that fucks the immune system into turning bruised flesh into bone. Most sufferers of it don’t even make it to 20 years old. And the existing treatments to reduce it all have terrible side effects.
They’ve been curing cancer for longer than I’ve been alive, but it’s also clear that the treatments over time have gotten more effective. This makes me wonder though: if a 100% effective cure (or preventative) for cancer comes around, what will be the next big goal?
If we’re talking in very general, “wishlist” ways, I would hope that a lot of the present cancer and vaccine research might make it possible in the future to correct birth defect prenatally. Things like congenital heart defects being fixed via gene editing during development versus surgically afterwards. Ditto for things like autoimmune or other inherited diseases.
Making the cure accessible. Some cancer treatments are more effective AND much more expensive. Companies may be looking for return on investment, or the treatment is tailor-made from the patient’s own cells, and inherently labor intensive and hard to produce.
Either way, curing 100% of the richest 5% who can afford it isn’t the most satifying outcome.
I would hope this happens but who knows. It feels like making something as basic as insulin accessible is somehow controversial in the US, so it’d probably end up being accessible in other countries to cure cancer while in the US your insurance would pay $1m, never approve it for you, then max out your copay and somehow charge you more beyond that just for the consultation.
There are plenty of other horrific medical conditions without cures or significant funding into their research.
Blanking on the medical name, but there’s a disease that fucks the immune system into turning bruised flesh into bone. Most sufferers of it don’t even make it to 20 years old. And the existing treatments to reduce it all have terrible side effects.
Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva
There are so many types of cancer and diseases that can be studied. But the end run is curing aging and cell deterioration imo.