Do you think we will find a cure for cancer?

1. 60

   JakeFrostposted 11 years ago

   Do you think we will find a cure for cancer?
   
   I certainly hope so, but I can't help but think that if it was possible it would have been done by now.

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2. 62

   Lisa HWposted 11 years ago

   I think it's a very real possibility.  There's a tendency in people (including both scientists and non-scientists) to believe that whatever is now known about something like science and medicine (but also other areas) is all known, and there's little left to be learned.  (The thinking is so often, "After all, look at the vast amount that is now known, particularly compared to what wasn't previously understood.")
   
   I don't think we can go by comparing what was once known (at any given time in history) to all that is now known (and then think we're close to knowing everything at this point).  I think we need to go by the hard-to-get-our-brain-around fact that answers and solutions tend to lie where only imaginations, better understanding, and determination can lead.
   
   Over the course of my life, I've seen time and time again, instances in which scientists, the medical profession and/or other experts have operated under the belief that everything there was to understand about one thing or another was already understood; and that there was nothing left to question or figure out.  Then, all of a sudden:  "Oopsie.  Guess what we discovered!  All these years we've been thinking 'x', and now we see that there's 'y' to factor in."
   
   I know I could be wrong, but I truly believe that a cure will be figured out.

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3. 0

   huckelburyposted 11 years ago

   Completing the human genome was the first great leap toward eradicating cancer. Once we completely understand the genetic basis and operation of the disease, then a cure will be forthcoming. Most cancers are the result of the actions of a number of genes, not a single gene acting alone. This makes the research more difficult, but as technology consistently improves to provide more tools for diagnosis and treatment, other avenues will also come along, some of which will lead to cures for various kinds of cancer. Fifty years from now, people will look back and wonder how people died of cancer, much as we look back and marvel at the deaths from TB in the18th and 19th centuries.

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4. 0

   JThomp42posted 11 years ago

   Hopefully, Yes I think there will be a cure eventually. Probably not in our lifetime.

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5. 69

   Bretsukiposted 11 years ago

   I believe there will be a cure for all forms of cancer in the future.
   
   There are already several cancers which are completely treatable and new methods of treating cancers are coming to the attention of the medical profession every week.
   
   Possibly the greatest danger today is not the cancer itself, but the public view that a cancer diagnosis is a death sentence. Early treatment is a key factor and as people learn to seek help sooner then the survival rate will improve dramatically.

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   paxwillposted 11 years ago

   Cancer is very complicated and its mechanisms are not fully understood yet.  I think when scientists work out how it starts and spreads then the cure will be found soon after. It may be something preventative rather than a medication. More and more progress is made each year.

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7. 61

   LCallposted 11 years ago

   I have read somewhere about a theory that the great doctors have already found the cure for cancer. However, since it's such a huge money-maker they aren't willing to release the cure. If you're a conspiracy theorist you might believe this!

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