Finding a cure to cancer is difficult

[Guest guest]

I read this Q & A article about cancer research and a donor. I thought it was

interesting and you may find it, also:

I donate money for cancer research yearly. Why is a cure so hard to find?

-Ginger , Naples, Fla.

Answer: First, cancer can start-or return-with just one abnormal cell; and

second, that cell is not an invader, such as a virus or bacteria. The erring

cell is part of one's own body. (Some theories suggest that viruses and possibly

bacteria may play a role by harming normal cells. Other outside causes, such as

smoking, are already well known.) At least 100 different types of cancer exist.

Combine those facts with the reality that all forms of treatment have limits.

Surgeons cannot be sure if they have removed each and every cancerous cell,

especially since some cells may have migrated to another area.

And it is virtually impossible for chemotherapy and radiation to kill every

single cancer cell without irreparably damaging normal, vital body cells. Yet

these therapies can work when the cancer cells are so reduced in number that the

body's own natural defenses can kill them. Against these odds, many cancers are

now curable, and this progress will continue with the help of people such as you

who give to research.

FYI,

Lottie

http://www.parade.com/askmarilyn/archive/Sundays-Column-05-03-09.html

[Guest guest]

From Lottie:

> And it is virtually impossible for chemotherapy and radiation to kill every

single cancer cell without irreparably damaging normal, vital body cells. Yet

these therapies can work when the cancer cells are so reduced in number that the

body's own natural defenses can kill them. Against these odds, many cancers are

now curable, and this progress will continue with the help of people such as you

who give to research.

______________________

Hi Lottie,

Just a few comments about our own 'cancer', which Dr. Rockefeller (who

also has cml) used to say. He said that cml in the chronic phase did NOT behave

like a typical cancer and did not really meet the cancer criteria. It does not

metastasize to other parts of the body in the chronic phase. It is in the blood

so it is really everywhere, but we do not get other cancers from it.

We don't cure our 'cancer' just be reducing the number of cancer/cml cells and

the body defenses can take care of the rest. The reason our 'cancer' is so

resistant is that the original cml cell is in a stem cell and can't be reached

by our drugs...or our own body defenses and it only takes that type of cml cell

to keep the 'cancer' going.

There has been research done and if you take 100 average people just walking

around and do a bmb on them, some of them (a certain %) will have one or more

ph+ cells in the marrow but they will never develop CML because the ph+ cell is

not in a stem cell.....and their body will get rid of that abnormal cell. We

were just unlucky enough to have the ph+ mutation occur in a primary cell that

is the on-going origin of other cells.

That is why there is some research presently going on to find a drug treatment

that can reach the stem cell line and in the labs there are a few drugs that are

doing that. A compound derived from feverfew is one of them and drug trials are

supposed to start on that in the UK. On Jerry's list Cheryl-Anne reported on

another drug that killed I think 90% of the cml stem cells in the lab. When they

are successful finding such a drug, this will be the cure for CML (it is can

kill off 100% of the cml stem cells, or if a lesser amount, maybe just a

significant improvement in control of the disease). When I used to ask Dr.

Druker what he was working on in the lab (and his time is primarily spent on

research vs patient care in the clinic) he always said " killing the last cml

cell " . There is not a cure for cml (maybe a durable remission with little chance

of relaspe) until you can kill off the last cml cell. Which is why when people

go off drug at PCRU, the disease returns in most of them (the exceptions seem to

be those who had previously been treated with interferon, which has somehow

modified their immune system, just as there are some CMLers who have only been

treated with interferon who are now treatment free and have not relapsed).

So, if it you in chronic phase and don't like the word 'cancer' I really don't

think that you need to apply it to your leukemia (and this was Dr.

Rockefeller's opinion about this also). I probably never say I have cancer....I

just say I have leukemia.

That's my 2-cents on the subject.

C.