As the most intelligent species on the planet, during the 20th
century we have managed to find treatments to cure some of the deadliest diseases
known to mankind such as malaria and polio. Although there are many diseases
that we have defeated in the past, new threats keep occurring, and yet the war on cancer never seems to end.
Cancer
‘begins when cells in a part of the body start to grow out of control’. The reason cancer is one of the main causes
of death across the world is because it can affect numerous parts of the body. It
is stated that in America that about half of the men and a third of the women
will experience cancer at some point in their lifetimes. This glum statistic shows the affect that
cancer will have on many families across the world for generations to come if
we cannot find a treatment that can completely eradicate cancer.
Leukaemia
Leukaemia
is a cancer of the blood and bone marrow and can affect people of all ages;
however it predominately occurs in adults. Fortunately if leukaemia is diagnosed
in the early stages then the majority of patients recover and unlike some
cancers if the disease is declared terminal the doctors have treatments that
can treat the person successfully for years after prognosis. However, although
leukaemia can be cured, in 2008 over 250,000 people died from the disease which
shows we still have a long way to go to reduce the mortality rate.
Leukaemia Treatments
From research previously carried out by the BBC it states that ‘The
number of teenagers and young adults that have died from cancer the in the UK
has halved since 1970… while the largest drop was those with leukaemia’. It has
been stated the main reason behind the significant drop in deaths has been down
to specialised leukaemia
treatments.
Gene Therapy
A ground breaking treatment that has been used to treat
sufferers of leukaemia who cannot receive traditional chemotherapy is gene
therapy. This treatment uses artificially activated anti-tumour cells in our
immune systems to destroy the cancer cells. The biggest success story being
American David Aponte’s miraculous recovery from having incurable leukaemia and
then 8 days later being cured of all symptoms. Of the 5 patients that took part
in the trial, 4 survived and 1 passed away with a blood clot unrelated to the
treatment.
Radiotherapy
Another form of treatment that is becoming more prominent as
technology continues to evolve is radiotherapy. As myeloma, a form of leukaemia, can damage
the bone in certain cases it is necessary for the patient to have an operation before
radiotherapy can be used as a form of treatment in order to protect the bone
whilst still removing the cancerous cells. In the past there was a lot of
concern that the risks of radiotherapy would outweigh the benefits however in
2013 the technology is at a level where the risks
have severely decreased.
Clinical Trials
One of the main areas that scientists want to use as a
platform for discovering cures for cancer is clinical trials. Less than 20% of
15-24 year olds suffering from cancer were taking part in clinical trials in
2013, the main reason behind this is due to age restrictions. The problem this
causes doctors and scientists is they cannot test the treatments across a broad
range of subjects in order to find a solution that treats the majority of the
population.
Overall
Ultimately the war against cancer will rage on
for the foreseeable future however all the signs are showing that the
technology and research being put towards finding the treatments for leukaemia
and cancer as a whole is starting to pay dividends as fatalities decrease. Moving
forward it is vital that we continue to invest in cancer research and finding
the cures for the niche cancers that are currently untreatable if we are
finally going to overcome cancer once and for all.
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