💡 Optimist's Edge: Curing cancer
Will we find cures for cancer? More than a third in Warp News survey think we will not. Get ready to dive in and get the facts on curing cancer.
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📉 What people think
There is hope. 64,3 percent believe we will find cures for cancer, according to Warp News survey. However, more than a third, 35,7 percent, think we will not.
📈 Here are the facts
According to Horizon, the EU research and innovation magazine, 30-40 percent of cancers are preventable in European countries. In other parts of the world, the proportion of preventable cancers is even higher.
We have come a long way. For instance, cancer survival in the UK has doubled in the last 40 years. In the 1970s only 25 percent of people with cancer would survive 10 years or more after their diagnosis. Today that figure is 50 percent. We see the same development in the US.
Still, we haven't cured cancer completely yet. The most important thing to know is that cancer is not one disease. Instead, it’s an umbrella term for more than 200 distinct diseases.
In spite of this fact, things are moving forward. All cancers can now be treated much better than 50 years ago, and more people than ever survive.
💡 Optimist's Edge
Breakthrough research is now accelerating the development of cures for cancer. Many of the tools needed are in place and now researchers are getting better at understanding and using them.
One of the new methods used is CAR T immunotherapy. This treatment works by removing T cells, white blood cells that fight viruses, from a patient's blood and genetically engineering them to fight cancer. The modified cells are then returned to the patient.
In short, the body's immune system is modified to fight cancer, and the effect seems to last indefinitely. A study in the journal Nature has recently been published with the results where two patients with leukemia have completely gotten rid of their cancer.
Antibody Drug Affinity Conjugate, or ADAC, is also based on this principle and paves the way for vaccination against cancer.
👇 How to get the Optimist's Edge
Cancer research is moving faster than ever and as you've read above there are cures for cancer already.
❓ So, how do you get the most out of this knowledge?
- There is hope. Cancer is no longer a death sentence and now you know some types of cancer are even curable.
- Vaccinate yourself against cancer. It is already possible to vaccinate yourself against certain cancer types, like cervical cancer. Make sure to protect yourself and stay updated on new vaccines.
- Looking in the future, cancer will become very rare. This will increase lifespan dramatically. As we get increasingly older we reach the next frontier: brain diseases, such as Alzheimer's. Research and investments in this area are already increasing and will accelerate.
- Make the future come sooner. Accelerate the development toward a cancer-free future by investing and supporting the research.
You now have an advantage because you have gained this knowledge before most others –