• Question: Do you ever think that we will fully find a cure for cancer?!

    Asked by EamonnM to Mike, Julio, Jaine, Dave, Annette on 11 Nov 2016. This question was also asked by GraceLovesHorses110.
    • Photo: Jaine Blayney

      Jaine Blayney answered on 11 Nov 2016:

      Some cancers have high cure rates eg testicular cancer. Other cancers eg ovarian and prostate, we need to work further on. Despite what you read in the Daily Mail (my Dad rings me up and tells me that I’m out of a job), discoveries are small and we add to them little by little. I’m interested in why cancers developed, the steps beforehand as well as the treatment when you have been diagnosed.

    • Photo: Annette Neill

      Annette Neill answered on 15 Nov 2016:

      That’s a tricky question because as Jaine has said below, some cancers are already curable. As regards to “finding a cure” we already understand a huge amount about what causes, cancer how cancer cells work and how they respond to treatment. Scientists then compile this information and experiment with the cancer cells- which takes a long time and costs money. I think we have made huge progress and have found treatments that are hugely successful, for example childhood leukaemia. It is can be treated very successfully in over 90% of cases.

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