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| Bone-marrow cancer vaccine molecule |
As I sat at my computer, sipping coffee, and reading the day's headlines this morning, I stumbled across a nifty little tidbit that says Cuban scientists have found a type of vaccine to treat lung cancer. My first reaction was astonished excitement! so I delved further into the myriad of information about cancer research and how far we've come. It turns out that this vaccine is essentially used to stop the spread of cancer. It does not stop it from occurring, and will not get rid of cancerous growths that are already present. What this vaccine does is stop the proliferation of a particular protein that allows cancer cells to multiply. Similar vaccines are being tested in the United States. "Provenge" was the first cancer vaccine to be approved by the FDA. However, this treatment is extraordinarily expensive and only prolongs survival by a few months. This is where the difference lies; the Cuban vaccine turns the cancer into a more manageable chronic illness that can be treated with more conventional and less invasive means. Basically it's not just a promise of a few more months of life, it's a promise of years!
I will say that there still needs to be testing, and it's unlikely that the drug will become available in the United States and Canada for a while as there will be very stringent investigations on the validity and safety of the drug. It's no secret that people from the US are likely to distrust the country of origin because of the indoctrination of anti-communist thought since the 1950s.
This could, however, bring the two nations closer together and open up better dialogue for ... well... not being so damn uptight to one another! One can only hope
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