• Question: how far are you from finding a cure to cancer?

    Asked by chemical to Katie, Bob, Nisha, Sallie, Vee on 28 Jun 2012. This question was also asked by yooda, 09larkina, oliviaalice.
    • Photo: Vee Mitchell

      Vee Mitchell answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      I personally don’t work on finding cures for cancer but I know people that do. Lots of cancers can already be cured especially if they are caught early enough. There is still loads of research being done to improve treatment of cancer so for example to try and get your bodies own immune system to attack the cancer cells. This would be a much better way of treating it as it wouldn’t have all the nasty side effects that a lot of current treatments have.
      I don’t think we will ever have a magic pill that will cure all types of cancer as they are all so individual.

    • Photo: Katie McDonald

      Katie McDonald answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      The trouble with cancer is it’s not one single thing. It should really be “cancers”. There’s so many types and variations of types that all the cells, even in one tumour, can react differently to treatments. Part of my job is diagnosing cancer types and advising cancer specialists on the treatments that will help particular patients. So as part of a team, we find cures to specific people’s cancers, if the treatments work!

    • Photo: Sallie Baxendale

      Sallie Baxendale answered on 28 Jun 2012:

      Vee is absolutely right. There are lots of types of cancer that can already be cured, IF you get the treatment in time. Did you know that 40% more men die of cancer than women simply because they put off going to the doctor until it’s too late?

    • Photo: Bob Bonwick

      Bob Bonwick answered on 2 Jul 2012:

      I don’t think anyone can say. We are so close but so far. As I’ve said in a previous answer, it’s not always possible to kill the cancer without risking killing the patient too, so some treatments are not possible for some cancers. Others have yet to be discovered.

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