Lack of Research and Funding for Lung Cancer

Isn't it interesting that I had treatments for nearly one year to deal with the large tumor in my right lung, but there was only "fact based evidence" for the initial treatments I received? After completing chemo-radiation in December of 2007 -- two months after my tumor was discovered -- there was nothing more conventional science could do for me. Dr. Steve liked to say "we are in uncharted waters" when it came to doing anything further. No one knows what modality of treatment has worked for me -- the adjuvant chemo and radiation first line treatment I initially received, the 16 weeks of consolidation chemo of cisplatin and navelbine, the whole brain radiation, or the clinical trial drug I am now taking. No one can predict if I will stay healthy or relapse. When it comes right down to it, there is not much we know about why I have done so well. Maybe it is something in my genes? (If that is the case, I should bottle it and sell it!)

I find that amazing that after decades of "the war on cancer" we are virtually no futher along in treating the number one cancer killer -- lung cancer -- than we were in 1971. Can you imagine if computer technology had not progressed since 1971? There would be no such thing as a personal computer or wireless phones or texting or the internet.

Why are we able to make great strides when it comes to the futuristic technology we employ in our daily lives today (GPS navigation, digital voice recognition, satellite TV, mobile phones, etc) but can't seem to get to first base when it comes to the biology of cancer? Could it be that in our quest for safety and the regulatory environment has created gigantic speed bumps making the cost of new technology prohibitive?

Imagine how slow cell phone technology would have developed if the FDA required that we test the phones to see if prolonged use will result in brain tumors. I dare say we would not have seen cell technology develop at the spectacular speed it did. We would all be walking around with eight pound clunkers. Nor would we have the lung cancer epidemic we have today if the FDA had regulated tobacco companies. How much testing did we do before cigarettes were allowed on the market?

In April of this year I attended a conference put on by the National Lung Cancer Alliance called the National Lung Cancer Advocate Summit in Dallas Texas. The conference was intended for people like me who want to do something about the lack of awareness and funding for lung cancer. Researchers from the University of Texas provided us with a one day course to explain what known about the biology of cancer and what is yet to be learned. Suffice it to say that, while we know a lot about the complexities of the various forms of cancer, there is much more that we don't know.