By Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center
Cancer. A 5 letter word that is expected to take the lives of almost 600,000 people, this year alone. It affects not only those 600,000 lives, but the lives of loved ones, family members, friends, and colleagues. It affects those survivors who have fought, and continue to fight the disease that plagues their body. It affects caregivers, doctors, and researchers. In someway, cancer has probably affected just about every person in this world, whether they know it or not.
We are far from where we want to be in the fight to cure cancer, however, we have made leaps and bounds. Specifically, this year, as a nation we have made a giant step with the Cancer Moonshot Initiative. This initiative is aimed towards accelerating cancer research, making alternative therapies available to a larger number of patients and also improving the ability to detect cancer earlier, and essentially prevent cancer.
With the push of the Cancer Moonshot Initiative, we will begin to see changes in the way we view cancer.
Collaborative Research
This nationwide initiative will bring together government agencies who may not normally work together in such ways. Departments of Defense, Commerce, Energy and Veterans’ Affairs will work together with the NCI (National Cancer Institute), NIH (National Institutes of Health), NSF (National Science Foundation), and FDA (Food and Drug Administration). This collaborative effort will assist in removing dispensable regulations and stimulating the support to new research. This also means more access to existing data, that without restriction, could be used for medical breakthroughs.
The collaboration is not limited to these large government agencies. The floor is open to others that have ideas on how to make a change. Medical experts will be gathering suggestions to help gain ideas —even furthering the invention attitude of this initiative.
Treatability: Immunotherapy
Immunotherapy is a treatment that uses a person’s own body’s immune system to help fight off the disease that ails it. There are a few different ways that immunotherapy can be done, either passive or active. This treatment is particularly impactful because it can lead to the creation of vaccines that prevent the development of different cancers.
Immunotherapy can be seen as favorable over treatment options such as radiation and chemotherapy. The two can be toxic to one’s body, obliterating the immune system. While it can be necessary, immunotherapy is an alternative treatment that works by rallying the immunesystem to fight off cancer, using natural body cells. Advancements in immunotherapy would impact the treatment of cancer patients in many ways, but particularly helping the patient to maintain a healthier body posttreatment.
Hope for Rare Cancers
The Cancer Moonshot Initiative means a lot for rare cancers that focus on immunotherapy. Many of these cancers rely heavily on immunotherapy and clinical trials—when new drugs are in arms reach to patients sooner, doctors and researchers can learn more quicker. Ideally, we can find the best possible treatment more rapidly.
This is particularly important for patients with mesothelioma. Since this rare cancer is so difficult to detect, therefore, commonly discovered in the later stages, the improvement of clinical trials, immunotherapy and antibody therapies can greatly impact the prognosis of mesothelioma patients, who generally receive a life expectancy ranging from 12-21 months.
Can We Do It?
While it may seem impossible, we can get there. With improved research methods, increased collaboration and funding, along with advancements in medicine, the Cancer Moonshot Initiative can help to change the lives of cancer patients, and truly, everybody in the world. The key is working together for a common goal: to fight cancer.
“For the loved ones we’ve all lost, for the families that we can still save, let’s make America the country that cures cancer once and for all” (President Barack Obama, State of the Union Address, January 12, 2016 source)
Related: What You Need to Know About Mesothelioma
Mesothelioma + Abestos Awareness Center
The Mesothelioma + Asbestos Awareness Center is an online resource for patients, family members and
caregivers dealing with mesothelioma cancer. They provide uptodate
information about mesothelioma and
other medical conditions relating to asbestos exposure. Their goal is to provide information so visitors can
easily access doctors and clinics to receive medical attention for their diagnosis. For more information visit: www.maacenter.org
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